CommunoApp User Guide

Everything in CommunoApp happens inside a community. You can belong to as many communities as you like, and switch between them at any time from the community switcher in the app.

Joining an existing community

There are three ways in:

• An invite link — any member can open a community's details and choose Share This Community to send one. Open it and follow the prompts to join.
• A join request — on the Communities tab, open Discover, find the community and request to join. An admin reviews it before you're in, and you can follow it under Pending.
• An invitation from an admin — admins can search for people by name or email and invite them. The invitation arrives in your Notifications as a Community Invite — open it to accept, or delete it to decline.

Communities can be Discoverable (they appear in search and anyone can ask to join) or Private (hidden from search; you need an invitation or a link).

Creating your own community

Tap Create in Communities, give it a name, an optional photo and address, a purpose (residential, faith, social, professional, or business), and choose whether it's Discoverable or Private. Creating a community makes you its creator and first admin, and you can invite others straight away.

Something to know before you create one: the creator of a community can't be removed from it, and their admin access can't be revoked — this protects the community from being taken over. If you're setting one up on behalf of a group, make sure the right person ends up as creator.

Inside a community

A community's details page shows who created it, its purpose and address, and its Member Directory — search the members, open a profile, or message someone. From there you can also set that community's notification preferences or Leave it. Changes appear on their own: when someone posts, edits or removes something, or is made an admin or removed from the community, your screens update without you having to refresh.

Admins get an Admin Home for the community they're in. It's where you keep the community running.

• Needs Attention — a live count of join requests, amenity booking approvals and community link requests waiting for you, each one tap away. When all three are clear it says you're all caught up.
• Members — from the Member Directory, admins can remove a member or make them an admin. Admins also see Invite Members (search by name or email) and Pending Requests on the community's details page, where Incoming are people asking to join and Outgoing are invitations you've sent.
• Community Settings — choose which things ordinary members may create (announcements, events, amenities, services), set the community's currency (used for event fees, amenity rates, service and post prices — changing it does not convert amounts already entered), and turn age groups on or off for events (see Events).
• Community Linking — share content with another community. See Linking communities together.
• Plan & Usage — your plan, and how much of its allowance you've used: users, community admins, feeds, events, amenities, services and storage.
• Amenity setup and approvals — add the locations amenities can be booked at, create amenities and approve or reject booking requests. See Amenities.

If your admin role ends while you're on an admin page, the app takes you back out of it, and your admin options disappear straight away.

Two separate communities — two buildings in the same complex, a street and its residents' association, a neighbourhood and a nearby faith group — can link to each other and choose to share content both ways, without merging into one community or giving either side access to the other's members or settings.

Setting up a link

This is an admin-only feature, done from each community's admin panel:

1. An admin opens Admin → Link a Community and sends a request to the other community.
2. An admin of the other community sees it under Pending Requests and chooses Accept & Configure or Decline.
3. Once accepted, either side's admin can open Edit Permissions at any time to change what's shared, or Unlink to end it.

Choosing what to share

Sharing is set independently for each kind of content — Announcements, Asks, Lost & Found, For Sale, Polls, Events, Amenities and Services — and independently in each direction:

• Share — send this community's content of that kind to the linked community.
• Accept — receive that kind of content from the linked community.

Every content type starts switched off in both directions except Lost & Found, which starts shared and accepted on both sides by default — a lost pet is more likely to be found if the next street can see it too. Nothing else crosses over until an admin turns it on.

Go to Profile → My Profile to add a photo and fill in details other members can see — your bio, birthday, gender, address, hometown, current city, dietary preferences, skills and interests. None of this is required beyond your name; add only what you're comfortable sharing.

Your phone number is optional too, and you can leave it blank or clear it at any time from Profile → My Profile.

Once you've filled in what you want to share, head to Privacy Settings to control exactly who can see each piece of it.

Find Help

Need a plumber, a piano teacher or someone who speaks Tamil? On the Communities tab, open Find Help and search for a skill. You'll see members of your community who have listed it on their profile, and you can message them from there. Only people whose Skills visibility lets you see it appear, so adding a skill and leaving it visible to community members is how you let neighbours find you.

The feed is where your community posts. Tap the compose button and choose a kind of post:

• AnnouncementNews, updates and general community posts. You can add images, pin an important one to the top of the feed, or mark it as an urgent message, which sends an urgent push notification to members.
• AskA question for the community — a recommendation, some advice, anything you'd ask a neighbour.
• Lost & FoundReport something lost or found, with an optional area hint like "near the west entrance" to help others place it.
• For SaleSell, give away, or lend an item to other members. Only an item you're selling carries a price, shown in your community's currency.

Asks, Lost & Found and For Sale posts can be resolved once they've served their purpose — marked Answered, Reunited or Returned, and Taken — so the feed reflects what's still open. You can edit or delete your own posts at any time.

Use the search box and the filter chips at the top of the feed to find a post or show only one kind of post. Tap the heart to like a post, or use the share option to send a link to it. New posts, edits and deletions appear on their own; pull down to refresh if you ever want to be sure.

Which kinds of post members can create is up to the community's admins — see Running your community.

If your community is linked to another one, you may see posts from there too, tagged From [Community Name] so it's always clear where a post came from.

Create a poll from the compose menu the same way you'd create a post. Give it a question, at least two options, and an optional closing time — you can also allow members to pick more than one option if the question calls for it.

Members vote directly in the feed, and results update live as votes come in. Once voting closes, the poll shows Polling completed and you can open View Results to see the totals and who took part. You can comment on a poll just like a post, which is useful for discussing the options before everyone votes.

Events cover everything from a quick meet-up to a full block party. Create one from the Events tab with a name, category, description, location, start and end time and optional images, then turn on whichever of the following your event needs:

• RSVP — every event takes RSVPs by default, so you always know who's coming.
• Capacity and waitlist — cap the number of places and let members join a waiting list once it's full. Capacity counts people, not households: a family of four takes four places.
• An RSVP cutoff — stop new RSVPs a set time before the event starts. After the cutoff nobody can RSVP or change an RSVP to attending, but anyone can still stand down.
• Recurrence — repeat the event daily, weekly, monthly (on a day of the month, or "the first Monday") or yearly, with an end date.
• Fees — set a price if the event isn't free. If your community's admins have turned on age groups, kids and seniors are counted separately and can have their own prices; otherwise everyone counts as a guest.
• Custom registration form — build your own sign-up form for the event: dietary needs, t-shirt sizes, emergency contacts, a waiver to agree to, whatever you need. See Custom event registration forms below.
• Potluck sign-ups — list what's needed and let members claim items, with a signup deadline. Attendees can also suggest their own item.
• Activities — offer optional activities members can sign up for within the event.
• Volunteer slots — list roles that need covering, with how many volunteers each slot needs and its own time window. See Volunteering.
• Check-in — open check-in a set number of minutes before the event starts (one hour by default). See Check-in.

CommunoApp does not process payments. Fees shown on an event are informational — the organiser collects them directly, outside the app (cash, bank transfer, or however they've arranged it), and confirms who has paid.

As a member

Browse Upcoming and Past events and search by name. Open an event to read the details, RSVP with the number of adults (and kids and seniors, if the event counts them), answer the registration questions, sign up for a potluck item, an activity or a volunteer slot, and add a note for the organiser. From the event you can also Add to Calendar, Share it, or message the host.

When an event is full

If you ask for more places than are left, the app tells you the numbers and asks you to confirm before you go on the waiting list. A group can be split — for example, "2 of your party are confirmed. 1 person is on the waiting list. You are number 3 in line." When places open up, people on the waiting list are moved up in the order they joined, and you're notified. Potluck, activity and volunteer choices aren't saved until at least one place in your party is confirmed; you can add them then.

As an organiser

Open the event and choose Manage to see who's going (adults, kids and seniors), the waiting list, and who has signed up for each potluck item, activity and volunteer slot. If your event has a custom registration form, you can also read every answer and export the responses as a CSV file.

Custom event registration forms

Every event can have its own custom registration form. Instead of chasing people in a group chat for t-shirt sizes, allergies or emergency contacts, you add the questions to the event and every attendee answers them as part of their RSVP. No separate form tool, link or spreadsheet is needed — the answers stay with the event.

Building the form

When you create or edit an event, open Registration questions and tap Add a Question. For each question you choose:

• The question itself, for example "What is your t-shirt size?", plus optional help text underneath to explain what you're after.
• An answer type:
  • Short answer — a line of text, like a name or phone number.
  • Long answer — a longer written reply, like "tell us about any allergies".
  • Number — a figure, like the number of car seats you can offer.
  • Date — a date, like a date of birth or arrival day.
  • Yes / no — a checkbox, handy for permissions and waivers.
  • Choose one — pick a single option from a list you write.
  • Choose any — pick any number of options from a list you write.
• Whether it's required. Required questions must be answered before an RSVP can be saved. A required yes / no question works as an agreement box: the attendee has to tick it, which makes it a good fit for a waiver, a code-of-conduct acknowledgement or photo consent.

Choice questions need at least two options (up to 30), and each option has to be different. Use the arrows to put the questions in the order you want, and remove any you don't need. Tap Done when you're finished; if a question is incomplete, the app tells you which one before you leave.

Changing the form later

You can add, reorder or remove questions at any time, even after people have RSVP'd. Anyone who has already replied keeps their answers, and answers to a question you remove are kept rather than deleted. Nobody is forced to start again.

What attendees see

The questions appear under A few questions on the RSVP screen, alongside the party size, any fees, and potluck, activity and volunteer sign-ups. If a required question is left unanswered, the app says which one when they try to confirm. Attendees can change their answers by editing their RSVP.

Reading and exporting the answers

Organisers open Manage → Responses to see every attendee's answers, search by name, and tap Export as CSV. The file opens in Excel, Google Sheets or Numbers, with one column per question in the same order as your form, and a row for every RSVP, including people who skipped optional questions. It also has each person's name, RSVP status (confirmed or waitlisted) and party size, so it works as a ready-made guest list, catering count or equipment list.

Ideas for using it

• Block party or festival: dietary requirements, number of children, whether they can help set up.
• Club or sports day: t-shirt size, emergency contact, a signed-waiver checkbox.
• Workshop or class: experience level (choose one), what they hope to learn (long answer).
• Trip or outing: pick-up point (choose one), seats available in their car (number).

Keep it relevant. Ask only for what you need to run the event. Answers are visible to the people who manage the event, so don't ask for sensitive details like card numbers or passwords. CommunoApp does not process payments.

If your community is linked to another one, events from there can appear here too, tagged From [Community Name].

Check-in lets an organiser see who actually turned up, for events and for amenity bookings that have it switched on. It opens a set time before the start (one hour unless the organiser or admin chose otherwise).

If you're attending

Open the event (or your booking under My Bookings) and show your check-in code. It's a QR code, and it refreshes every minute. You'll see "Check-in required" on events that use it.

If you're the organiser

• Scan Arrivals — scan each person's code with your camera as they arrive.
• Attendance list — see who's Expected, who has Arrived and who is on the Waiting List. You can check someone in by hand, or Undo a check-in made by mistake. For amenities, the Arrivals list shows who is due now.

When you sign up for an event's volunteer slot, the hours can become a verifiable record. After the event, an admin opens Confirm Volunteers and marks each volunteer as Attended or No-show, entering the hours worked (left blank, it counts the full shift). Only confirmed hours count.

Go to Profile → My Volunteering to see your Verified Hours, community by community. From the Certificate tab you can request a volunteer certificate for a community, share a link to it (for a school, employer or application), or withdraw it so the shared link no longer shows it. You can hold one certificate per community at a time, so withdraw the current one before requesting a new one.

Amenities are shared spaces your community can book — a clubhouse, a rooftop terrace, a tool room, a guest parking bay. Each one has a location (admins add locations first), a maximum number of guests, working hours and days available, a facility manager's contact details and house rules, and can require approval before a booking is confirmed.

Each amenity sets its own booking slot length and minimum notice, and can optionally have check-in. Fees can be flat or split into peak and off-peak pricing. An amenity can be set inactive when it's temporarily unavailable — it stays in the list, marked inactive.

CommunoApp does not process payments. An amenity's fee is informational — settle up with the community directly, outside the app.

To book one, open it from the Amenities tab, choose a date, pick an available slot, enter the number of guests and submit. You'll see the rate and total fee for the slot you pick. If it requires approval, you'll be notified once an admin approves or rejects it — otherwise it's booked immediately. Slots that are already taken show as booked.

Find your bookings under My Bookings, split into Upcoming and Past. From there you can show your check-in code, cancel a booking, or Book Again. Admins review requests under Approvals (filtering by amenity) and can see every booking for an amenity under View Bookings.

If your community is linked to another one, its amenities can appear here too, tagged From [Community Name].

Services are how members offer things to each other — a home business, a repair skill, a kitchen taking orders. List a service with a description, a location, and the items or offerings it provides, each with its own price and unit (per item, per hour, and so on).

CommunoApp does not process payments. Prices on a service are informational — arrange payment directly with the member offering it, outside the app.

Requesting a service

Open a service and tap Request Service. Choose the items you want (you'll see the total), describe what you need, pick a preferred date and time, and confirm your address, email and phone so the provider can reach you. Follow your requests under My Requests — Active and Completed — where you can modify or delete a request, or Rebook one you've used before.

Providing a service

Requests to you arrive under Received, with the requester's contact details and a button to chat with them. Accept or decline each one (the requester is told), and mark it completed when it's done. You can search and sort your requests and export them as a CSV file. If you no longer have capacity, mark your service unavailable rather than deleting it, so your listing and its history stay intact.

Ratings and reviews

Tap the star rating on a service to read its reviews or add your own — a rating and an optional written comment of up to 1,000 characters. You can also share a service with a link.

If your community is linked to another one, its services can appear here too, tagged From [Community Name].

You can comment on any post, poll or event, and reply to someone else's comment to keep a conversation threaded. Tap the heart to like a post, event or comment, and tap the count to see who liked it.

Made a mistake? You can edit or delete your own comments at any time. If someone else's comment is a problem, see Staying safe below.

Message someone directly from the Chat tab — search for a person by name, email or username — or by tapping message on a member's profile or in the Member Directory. Conversations are one-to-one and show when the other person was last active.

To silence new-message notifications, go to Profile → Chat Settings.

If a conversation becomes unwelcome, you can block the other person right from the chat — see below for what blocking does.

The Notifications tab lists everything relevant to you across your communities — new posts, urgent messages, comments, event reminders, booking confirmations and more — grouped by community. Swipe one away once you've dealt with it.

Each community has its own settings, under Notification Settings on its details page: Push Notifications (alerts on your phone, even when the app is closed) and In-App Notifications (listed in Notifications and shown while you're using the app). Chat notifications are separate, in Profile → Chat Settings. Settings save as you change them; if one can't be saved, the app puts it back and tells you.

Not receiving notifications? Check these in order:

1. Notifications are enabled for CommunoApp in your phone's system settings.
2. Your per-community notification preferences in the app.
3. If you recently switched accounts on this device, sign out and back in to re-register it.

There is no tolerance for objectionable content or abusive users on CommunoApp. Every post, comment, event, service and amenity carries a Report option, and every member can be blocked — you don't need anyone's permission to use either. Our Terms spell out what is not allowed: illegal, regulated or dangerous goods (such as drugs, weapons and counterfeits), nudity and sexually explicit content, hate speech, threats and graphic violence, content promoting self-harm, and scams. The one exception to reporting and blocking is the official CommunoApp Team account, which posts the welcome content and can't be reported, blocked or messaged.

Reporting content or a person

Tap the ··· menu on any post, comment, event, service, amenity or profile and choose Report. The report takes three short steps: what you're reporting, the specific reason that best fits, then any detail that would help. Our moderation team reviews every report and acts on genuine violations by removing the content and, where necessary, removing the person from the community or their account.

Follow up under Profile → My Reports, which lists everything you've reported and where it stands.

Blocking someone

Choose Block from the same ··· menu, from their profile, or from a chat with them. Blocking is immediate and works both ways:

• You stop seeing their posts, comments, events, services and amenities, and they stop seeing yours — in every community you both belong to.
• Neither of you can message the other.
• Their existing content collapses to a placeholder wherever it would otherwise appear, so you can still tell what happened without having to read it.
• The other person isn't told that they've been blocked.

You can see and undo every block you've made from Profile → Blocked Users at any time.

Go to Profile → Privacy Settings to control who can see each piece of your profile — email, phone number, hometown, current city, address, birthday, gender, dietary preferences, skills and interests. Each one can be visible to Public, Community Admins, Community Members or Only Me.

Until you change them, your email, phone number, address, birthday and gender are visible to Only Me; the rest are visible to community members. Changes save as you make them, and Reset to Default puts everything back.

Nothing here affects content you post to a community; that's visible to the community by design.