Help & FAQ

Getting started

What is Hangout?

Hangout is a place to post real-world plans and make them joinable. A hangout is a meetup with a title, a time, a place, a poster image, and an openness setting that controls who can see it. Once posted, it appears in a live local feed where friends and nearby people can see it, RSVP, and attend. Hangout is available on iOS and the web.

How do I sign up?

You sign in with your phone number. We text you a one-time code (OTP) to confirm the number, so there is no password to remember. Enter the code and you are in.

Is logging in the same as signing up?

Yes. There is one flow. You enter your phone number and verify the code. If the number is already on Hangout, you land in your account. If it is new, you continue through onboarding to set up your profile.

What happens during onboarding?

The first time you sign up, we walk you through a few quick steps to set up your profile: a photo, your name, a username, an optional bio, your city, an optional Instagram handle, your birthday, gender, and a few interests. You can edit all of this later from your profile.

How do I find people to follow?

• Search for people by name or username.
• Browse the feed and tap into posts and hangouts to find people whose plans you like.
• Join a community to meet people around a shared interest or place.
• Following someone means their posts and hangouts show up in your feed.

Posting a hangout

How do I create a hangout?

Tap the create button, pick or upload a poster image, then set a title, a time, and a place. Choose the openness (who can see it), and add any optional details. When it is ready, post it and it goes live in the feed for the audience you chose.

What does openness or visibility mean?

• Public: anyone nearby can see and join it in the local feed.
• Friends or followers: only people connected to you can see it.
• A community: posted to one group, so only its members see it.

Openness is the load-bearing setting in Hangout. It controls who sees the hangout in the feed, who can join, and who can see check-ins.

What are posters and templates?

Every hangout has a poster image, which is what people see in the feed. You can upload your own photo or pick from a set of ready-made templates if you do not have an image handy.

What is the AI quick post?

AI quick post turns a single sentence into a draft hangout. Type something like "beers at the park Friday at 7" and it fills in a title, time, and place for you to review and adjust before posting.

Can I set capacity, plus-ones, co-hosts, or recurrence?

• Capacity: cap how many people can join.
• Plus-ones: let attendees bring guests.
• Co-hosts: invite others to help host; once they accept, they can manage the hangout with you.
• Recurrence: repeat a hangout on a schedule instead of recreating it each time.

How do I edit or delete a hangout?

Open a hangout you host and use its menu to edit the details or delete it. Deleting removes it from the feed and from everyone who joined. Note that hosting requires you to be 18 or older.

Joining and attending

How do I RSVP?

Open a hangout and choose going, maybe, or can't. You can change your RSVP at any time, and the host sees your response.

Can I see who is going?

Yes. Each hangout shows the people who have joined, so you know who will be there before you go.

How do check-ins work?

Check-ins are opt-in and confirmed every time. When you arrive at a hangout you get a prompt and tap to check in. There is no live dot and no continuous tracking.

What is the precise versus approximate setting?

When you check in you can share a precise location or an approximate one. Who can see your check-in follows the hangout's openness, so a private hangout keeps your check-in private. You control this with the precise check-in toggle in your settings.

The feed

What is the difference between For you and Following?

The feed has two tabs. For you mixes public hangouts and posts near you with content from people and communities you follow. Following shows only the people and groups you follow.

Can I like, comment, repost, or share?

Yes. You can like, comment on, repost, and share hangouts and posts. Sharing lets you send something to a friend or out to your own followers, and you can also share a hangout straight into a direct message.

How do mentions work?

Type @ followed by a username to mention someone in a post or comment. They get notified that you mentioned them.

What is a zap?

A zap is a light poke: a quick, low-pressure way to nudge someone or show you are thinking of them, without writing a message. You can control who is allowed to zap you in your privacy settings.

Communities and groups

What is a community?

A community is a group built around a shared interest, place, or crew. Members can post hangouts to it so only the group sees them.

How do I create or join one?

Create a community from the groups area, give it a name and details, and invite people. To join an existing one, open it and request or tap to join. Private communities may require approval.

Can communities be private?

Yes. Private communities are not openly visible, and admins approve who can join and see the posts inside.

What can admins do?

Admins manage the member list and the posts in the community, including approving members and removing content or people when needed.

How do I post a hangout to a community?

When you create a hangout, set its openness to that community. The hangout then appears to the group's members instead of the public feed.

Messages

How do I start a conversation?

Open someone's profile or the messages area to start a direct message. You can also create group chats with several people.

Who can message me?

You control this in your settings. You can limit who is allowed to message you, so messages from people outside that circle are restricted.

Can I share a hangout in a message?

Yes. Use share on any hangout and pick a direct message to send it straight to a friend or a group chat.

Profile

What can I edit on my profile?

Your name, username, photo, bio, city, interests, and social links such as Instagram. Update them any time from your profile settings.

What is the difference between a public and a private account?

A public account can be followed by anyone and your public posts are visible to all. A private account requires you to approve each follow request before that person can see your content.

What is the verified badge?

The verified badge is granted by the Hangout team to a small number of notable or trusted accounts. It is earned, not automatic, and cannot be bought or turned on by verifying your phone. Every account shows separate authenticity signals (joined date, the country it was created from, and the App Store it connected via) on its profile.

What are the tabs on my profile?

Your profile has tabs for your posts, your hangouts, your groups, your likes, and your saves. Your likes and saves are private to you and are not shown to anyone else.

Notifications

What can I get notified about?

• Invites to hangouts and people joining yours.
• Comments, mentions, likes, and reposts.
• New followers and follow requests.
• Messages and zaps.
• Nearby activity.

Can I control push and email notifications?

Yes. Each type has its own setting, so you can turn categories on or off individually. You can receive push notifications on your device and an email digest that rounds up activity.

What are quiet hours?

Quiet hours let you mute notifications during a window you set, for example overnight, so nothing buzzes while you are asleep.

Privacy and safety

How do private accounts and follow requests work?

Set your account to private and new followers have to send a request you approve. Until you accept, they cannot see your posts, hangouts, or who you follow.

How do I block someone?

Block from a profile or a message. Blocked people cannot see your hangouts, message you, or find your profile.

How do I report something?

Use the report option on a profile, hangout, post, or message. Reports go to our team for review. See our Safety and Community Guidelines pages for what is and is not allowed.

Can I control who reaches me?

Yes. You can set who is allowed to message you, invite you to hangouts, and zap you, and you can turn read receipts on or off. Combined with a private account and blocking, this lets you keep your space as open or as closed as you want.

Account

Can I change the language?

Yes. In settings you can switch between English and French in Canada, and English and Spanish in the United States.

Can I download my data?

Yes. You can request a copy of your data from your account settings.

What happens when I delete my account?

Deleting your account removes your hangouts, check-ins, content, and your social graph (your follows and followers). This is permanent and cannot be undone. You can delete from settings or by emailing support.

Where is Hangout available, and what is the age requirement?

Hangout is available in Canada and the United States. You must be at least 13 to use Hangout, and at least 18 to host a hangout.

Troubleshooting

I did not receive my SMS code.

• Check that the phone number you entered is correct.
• Wait a moment, as codes can take a few seconds to arrive.
• Make sure you have signal and that messages are not blocked.
• Request a new code, and if it still does not arrive, contact support.

I cannot post or join a hangout.

• Hosting requires you to be 18 or older, so check your birthday in your profile.
• A hangout at capacity will not accept new joins.
• Private hangouts and communities are limited to their audience, so you may not be able to join one you cannot see.
• Make sure the app is up to date and you have a connection.

The app or login is acting up.

• Close and reopen the app, and confirm you are on the latest version.
• Check your internet connection.
• If a screen is stuck, sign out and sign back in with your phone number.

I was signed out unexpectedly.

Just sign back in with your phone number and a fresh one-time code. Your account and content are intact. If you are repeatedly signed out, contact support.

Contact and support

Still stuck? Email support@myhangout.xyz. Tell us what happened and, if it helps, the phone number on your account and your device. We read every message and aim to reply within a couple of business days.

For safety concerns and reporting, see our Safety and Community Guidelines pages. For how we handle your information, see our Privacy Policy.