Help & safety
How PeaPool works, how to look after yourself, and how to reach a person when something goes wrong.
How PeaPool works
1. Someone posts what they're doing
A lift, a run, a gym session, a game: the host says where and when, how many places there are, and what each place costs, if anything. A lift also names the vehicle.
2. You ask for a place
Say how many places you want and, if you like, add a note. Your request holds those places while the host decides, so the last place can't be promised to two people. You can withdraw at any time.
Some hosts only accept people with a verified email. You can verify yours in Settings.
3. The host confirms or declines
You get a notification either way. Before deciding, the host can see your name, your note, whether your email is verified and any line you've written about yourself. You can message each other about the activity before and after.
4. Contact details appear once you're confirmed
Until a place is confirmed, no other member sees your phone number or email address, and guests don't see the exact meeting point or the host's payment details. Once it is, the host and that guest can see each other's, and the guest sees the exact spot on the map.
5. Settling up is tracked, not taken
PeaPool never holds or moves money. If there's a price, you pay the host directly, however their payment details say. You can mark that you've sent it, with a reference; only the host can mark it received, because only they can see their own account.
6. Afterwards, rate each other
Once it has happened, confirmed guests can rate the host and the host can rate each confirmed guest. Ratings and comments show on people's profiles.
Staying safe
Meet somewhere public
Especially the first time. A station, a car park, a busy junction, the gym entrance. If a meeting point doesn't feel right, ask to change it or don't go.
Check who you're going with
Look at their profile: ratings, comments from other people, how many things they've hosted and joined. The verified tick means they proved they own their email address. It is not an identity check.
Share your meetup with someone you trust
Add up to 2 safety contacts in Settings. They don't need an account, and they get nothing from us until they've confirmed by email that they agree.
On anything you host or have a confirmed place on, “Share with my safety contact” sends them a link by email, or on WhatsApp from your own phone. It shows the exact meeting point, when it starts and should finish, and the names of the people you're meeting, as you see them. Nothing else: no phone numbers or email addresses. The link stops working a couple of hours after the meetup should end, and you can turn it off at any time. Anyone with the link can see it until then.
Check on me
Turn on “Check on me” and we'll ask if you're OK, by notification and email, when the meetup should finish or at a time you pick. If you don't answer within the time you choose (15, 30, 45, 60 minutes; 30 unless you change it), we email the safety contacts you chose with the details of the meetup. Times are approximate: we check every few minutes, so it can be up to 10 minutes late.
If you answer late, we tell them you're OK. We never contact anyone else: not the police, not the other people at the meetup.
SOS
During a meetup, the activity page has a red Emergency button. Hold it for 3 seconds, or press it once and confirm, then you have 5 seconds to cancel. After that we show you the emergency numbers to call and email your safety contacts at once, with the meetup's details.
Your exact location goes with it only if you tick “Include my location” for that alert (you can make it the default in Settings), and only once, from your phone. PeaPool's moderators are told an SOS was raised, but never see where you were.
Your location stays approximate
Anyone who isn't confirmed sees a meeting point moved up to 500m from the real one, drawn as a circle rather than a pin, and it stays put however often the page is reloaded. Distances in search are rounded to the nearest kilometre. “Near me” uses your browser's location only when you press it, rounded to about 100m.
Report and block
You can report a person from their profile, an activity from its page, or a message from the conversation. Blocking someone, from their profile, hides you from each other, stops either of you joining the other's activities and cancels any places already arranged between you. They aren't told.
What happens after a report
Reports go to PeaPool's moderators, who are told as soon as one arrives. Harassment and unsafe behaviour go to the top of the queue. A moderator may suspend the account: a suspended person can't post, join or message anyone, their upcoming activities are cancelled, and everyone booked on them is told.
You'll get a notification when your report has been reviewed. The app doesn't show the other person who reported them.
In an emergency
PeaPool is not an emergency service, and a report may not be read straight away. If you or someone else is in danger, call the emergency services first (112), then tell us.
Contact support
Support requests go to PeaPool's moderators. To report a specific person, activity or message, use the report button next to it instead: that puts the evidence in front of the moderator.