Whether you're just starting out or sorting a deposit, a ticket, or your account —
the answers are below, grouped by topic. And when that's not enough,
write to us from inside the app and we'll get back to you.
Getting started
From first open to a new chat — in three steps.
offline gets you out and among real people. Here's the whole loop, from finding
an event to connecting with someone you actually met.
1
Find an event — or create your own
The feed is where you land, and the map shows the same events as pins around you.
Join with one tap. Nothing fits? Create your own event — at a listed venue or by
long-pressing any point on the map, a park or a square included.
2
Show up and confirm attendance
On site you check in with one tap. Your location is read at that moment only, to
compare where you are with where the event is — you need to be within
200 m. If GPS won't cooperate, the people who were there can
confirm you instead.
3
After the event, swipe — and open a chat
Once it's over you can swipe the people who were there with you. A mutual yes
opens a chat. That's the only path to messages — no cold DMs to strangers.
Do I have to create an event to take part?
No. Just open the map, find an event that catches your eye, and join. Creating
your own events is an extra option, not a requirement.
How do I connect with someone after an event?
Once your attendance is confirmed, after the event you'll see the people who
were there with you. You can swipe them, and a mutual yes opens a direct chat.
There's no other route to DMs — that's what keeps messages real and free of cold
outreach.
Events & deposits
A deposit keeps the room real — and it comes back when you show up.
Here's the whole logic of money in offline: a small deposit that makes a yes mean
something, and ticket sales we take no commission on.
Private events
A €4 refundable deposit — confirm you were there and get it back
Most private events take a €4 refundable deposit. Confirm your
attendance and the full €4 comes back — not instantly, though: settlement runs once
the event has ended and a one-week window has passed. Leave early and you get part of
it back on a fixed ladder. If your attendance is never confirmed, the deposit is
forfeited. An organiser can also run a private event with no deposit at
all, and they pay the same €4 themselves when they create one, settled by
exactly the same rules as everyone else.
Do I get my deposit back?
If your attendance is confirmed, yes — the whole €4. It isn't instant: settlement
runs after the event has ended and a one-week window has passed, and
you get a notification either way. If your attendance is never confirmed, the deposit
is forfeited — that's the outcome that actually costs money, so it's
worth checking in.
Change your mind within 30 minutes of paying and we refund
the whole €4 — that window is there for a
mistaken tap. Cancel later and €2 of the
€4 deposit comes back, and inside the last
24 hours before the start
nothing comes back. Two cases are always refunded in full, because
neither is your fault: an organiser removing you from the event, and the event being
called off because too few people signed up.
What if GPS doesn't work at the venue?
Basements, thick walls, a phone having a bad day — it happens. When check-in fails you
can ask the people who were there to confirm you instead. One
confirmation from someone who did check in is enough; if anyone disputes it, the
organiser decides. Your deposit is never forfeited while a request is still open.
How much does offline cost?
Attending is free: public free events cost nothing, and a private event's €4 deposit
is refundable (some private events have no deposit at all). Paid events have a ticket
whose price the venue sets, and offline takes 0 % commission on
it. What we do charge for is publishing and promoting: €4 to publish
a free public event, one ticket price to publish a paid one, and
€2 for a seven-day boost in the feed. Everything is in euro — there's
no per-country pricing.
What's the difference between private, public free, and paid events?
Private events take a €4 refundable deposit (or are free), cap out at 25 people and
keep a smaller, more committed group — they're also the only ones with the post-event
swipe. Public free events are free for attendees. Public paid events are created by
venues, have a ticket priced by the venue, and offline takes no commission on it.
Who gets the money from tickets?
Ticket money goes straight into the venue's own Stripe account, and offline takes
0 % commission on it. Stripe's processing fee is deducted from
that transfer, so on a €10 ticket the venue receives at most €9.60 —
cards that cost Stripe more to process (corporate, or issued outside the EEA) pay out
slightly less. Refunding
a ticket is the venue's own call, handled from their Stripe dashboard — offline
doesn't return ticket money. Deposits, creation fees and the €2 boost work the other
way round: those are charged by offline directly.
Will offline refund my ticket?
No — the platform doesn't refund tickets. The venue has the money and handles refunds through its own Stripe. That holds even when a paid event is called off because too few people signed up: the app tells you about it, but you settle the money directly with the venue. If the event is going ahead and it's you who can't make it, you do have one more option: you can put the ticket up for sale right in the app — if it sells, you get your money back; if it doesn't, the ticket stays valid for the event and simply lapses if you don't use it. Deposits on private events are a different matter — those the platform refunds automatically.
Safety & privacy
Trust is in the architecture — not glued on afterwards.
Meeting people in real life demands trust that's built into the foundation.
Here's the quick overview — we go into detail on the Safety page.
Women-only events
Gender is declared once at sign-up and then permanently locked — we don't check it against a document. These events, and their attendee lists, are invisible to everyone else; a shared link returns a 404.
Location is read only when you tap
Four moments, all of them a tap you chose: confirming attendance (within 200 m), picking a place, sharing your location in a chat, and the map button on this site. No background location, no continuous tracking.
Encrypted direct messages
In a one-to-one chat, the text you write and any location you share are end-to-end encrypted — the key never leaves your phone. Photos and voice notes aren't, and group and event chats stay readable on purpose so reports can be acted on.
18+ events are opt-in and age-gated
Hidden from everyone by default, they only appear once you turn them on yourself in Settings. An account under 18 can't turn them on — that check runs on the server.
Report and block anyone
Blocking takes effect immediately and no new chat can ever open between you. Reports escalate into a moderation queue automatically once three different people report the same target — but suspending an account is always a person's decision, never an automatic one.
16 and over, with a date of birth that can't move
You have to be at least 16 to use offline. You give your date of birth once at sign-up and it can't be edited afterwards — which is what makes the 18+ gate mean anything. It's self-declared: there's no ID check.
Your data is yours — and card details never reach us.
Two things everyone wants to know: what happens to your data, and where the money
flows. Here are both answers, limits included.
Export and delete — one flow each
Right inside the app settings you can download everything offline
holds about you, and from the same place delete your account. Three things stay on
purpose: your messages in group event chats remain but are relabelled as a deleted
account so the conversation still reads, Stripe keeps payment records for the
accounting period it's legally required to, and backups roll off within a week.
Payments and payouts run through Stripe and Stripe Connect — they
handle card security and business identity checks, and your card details never reach
us. Ticket money goes straight to the venue's own Stripe account at
0 % commission, minus Stripe's processing fee. Deposits,
creation fees and the €2 boost are charged by offline directly. Venue payouts run
weekly, anchored on Monday.
How do I cancel my account?
In the app settings you'll find the option to delete your account. It clears your
profile, photos, direct chats, swipes, saved events and payment records. Before
deleting, you can download everything offline holds about you with one tap. Three
things stay behind on purpose: your messages in group event chats remain but are
relabelled as a deleted account, Stripe keeps payment records for its statutory
accounting period, and backups roll off within a week.
Does offline hold my card details?
No. Every payment runs through Stripe, and your card details never reach our servers.
Ticket money is transferred straight to the venue's own Stripe account at 0 %
commission. The charges that do go to offline are the ones we name openly: the €4
deposit on a private event, the fee to publish a public event, and the €2 feed boost.
Can I download my data?
Yes. In the app settings you can export everything offline holds about you with one
tap.
Contact
Didn't find your answer? Write to us in the app.
Support lives inside offline itself. That's the one channel we actually watch, and it
arrives with your account's context attached, so nobody has to ask you which event
you mean.
Contact us in the app
Open Settings, then "Contact us". Describe what happened and we'll come back to you there.
Settings → Contact us
Reporting someone is separate
If it's about a person or an event, use Report on their screen instead — it reaches moderation directly, with the reason attached.
We're here for you — before and after every event.
offline isn't out yet. When it is, you'll see what's happening around you and meet
real people in real life — and when you need something, you'll know where to find us.
Coming to iOS and Android
We're finishing offline. Leave your email and we'll tell you on launch day — nothing else.
We store only your email and language, use them for one launch announcement, then delete them. Privacy policy