SFSocial
Join a community
A community is a group built around one thing: film photography, running, a language you are learning. Each one has its own channels. Find one you like and join it with a tap.
In development. Not open to the public yet.
A chat app for communities, with optional dating
Find a community for something you are into, join its channels, and start talking to people who are into it too. Dating is here as well, if you want it.
- Communities, group chats and direct messages
- Optional dating, with every match explained
- Free while we are testing
01 How it works
Three steps to get started
Nothing complicated. You join a community, you talk in it, and you get to know people from there.
Talk in the channels
Send messages, reply to people, react with emoji, share photos and videos. It works like any good group chat, and it is where you actually get to know somebody.
Take it further when you want to
Message someone directly, start a private group chat with a few of you, or turn dating on and see who you match with. How far it goes is up to you.
02 What's different
Why it works this way
Meeting someone through a conversation is easier than meeting them through a photograph. You already have something in common, and you already know how they talk.
Most dating apps
- You judge people from a photo, in seconds
- You match, then start a conversation from nothing
- Likes, view counts and public popularity
- Dating is the only thing there is to do
SFSocial
- You meet people while talking about something you both like
- You have already been talking, so there is plenty to say
- No likes, no view counts, no popularity score
- Dating is one part of a chat app you would use anyway
03 Conversations
Everything you expect from a chat app
Community channels, private group chats and direct messages all work the same way, so there is only one thing to learn.
Reactions and replies
React to a message with any emoji, and see who else did. Reply to one message and your answer carries the quote with it, so nobody loses the thread.
Mentions
Type @ and pick a person, a role or the whole channel from a list. The right person gets the notification, even when two people share a name.
Pinned messages
Pin the messages that matter, like a plan, an address or a good photo. Every pin sits in one tab, and opening one takes you back to the original message.
Search with filters
Search by words, by who wrote them, by date, or by what a message contains. Type the filters if you like that sort of thing, or tap them together if you do not.
Photos, videos and links
Send photos and videos, or paste a link and get a preview card. Media plays inside the chat, and a vertical video stays vertical.
Online status and typing
See who is around and who is typing back. Notifications are set per conversation, so you can mute one channel and keep the rest.
04 Communities and groups
Communities with channels, roles and moderators
A community has its own channels and its own moderators, so it feels like a place rather than a feed. A private group chat works the same way for a handful of friends.
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Channels, not one big room
Conversations are split into categories and channels. The film talk and the meetup planning are not in the same place.
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Roles and permissions
Who can post, share links, mention everyone, pin or moderate is set per role. It can be changed channel by channel.
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Moderation tools for owners
Timeouts, kicks, bans and removing a message belong to the people who run the community. We are not in the middle of it.
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Invite people with one link
Every community gets one permanent link with a name you choose. You can pause it whenever the place needs a quiet week.
05 Dating
How dating works
Dating is optional and starts switched off. Turn it on and you get Discovery, a page of people who might suit you, with the reason for each one. Nothing happens until you are both interested.
You say what you are looking for
Age, distance, what you want from a relationship, and your dealbreakers. It is checked in both directions, so you have to suit them as much as they suit you.
The best matches come first
Everyone you see is sorted by how well you match. You scroll down the page. There is no swiping, and no queue you have to get through.
You can see why you match
Every card shows a match score and what you have in common. The rating is in plain words, such as "Great match", beside the interests and goals you share.
No annoying notifications
Tapping Interested does not land anything in anybody's inbox. You simply move up their list, and they come across you in their own time.
It is a match when you both agree
Once you have both tapped Interested, you can start talking. Before that, neither of you has heard anything about the other.
Dating has its own profile
Dating adds a second profile, separate from your community one. Turn dating off again and it is hidden, with none of your answers deleted.
06 Safety and privacy
You control who can reach you
This is the part of the app we thought about first. Whoever is being contacted holds the controls, and none of it needs setting up.
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Nobody messages you out of the blue
Someone has to ask first, and you accept or decline. Declining does not tell them, and nobody can send more than a few requests a day.
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Block and report from anywhere
Report a message, a profile or a request from where it happened. Blocking hides your profile and stops all contact for good.
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Your dating side stays private
People you have not matched with never see your username. If you skip someone they are never told, and your dealbreakers and preferences are read by nobody but you.
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18+, no ads, no data selling
SFSocial is for adults only, with no ads and no data selling. We work with no ad network. The usage data we do collect is anonymous, is never linked to your account, and can be turned off.
Current status
SFSocial is still being built
It is not finished, and it has not launched publicly yet. Here is exactly where things stand.
Working now. Communities, group chats, direct messages, dating, photos and videos, reporting and moderation, and notifications on Android and the web.
Where it runs. Android, web browsers, Windows and Linux, with one account and one history. macOS and iOS are planned.
Not built yet. Age checks against a document, end-to-end encryption, an invisible mode, and data export inside the app, which we handle by email for now.
Who runs it. One person, with a few volunteer moderators reviewing reports. Expect honest answers, not 24-hour support.
07 Questions
Common questions
What people ask most often before signing up.
For anything else, email us at support@sfsocial.app.
Is SFSocial a dating app or a social app?
Both, and social first. Everyone gets a profile, communities and messaging. Dating is a separate setting that starts off, and many people will never turn it on. Turning it off again hides your dating profile and takes you out of other people's suggestions, without deleting any of your answers.
Does it cost anything?
Not today. SFSocial is free while it is being built and tested, with no subscriptions, no purchases and no payments of any kind. Paid features are possible later. If that happens, we will say so clearly and publish the terms before anything is charged for.
How is the compatibility score worked out?
What you are both looking for counts the most, then the personality traits you asked for, then shared interests, then height if you set a range. Anything you left blank is left out instead of scored as zero.
Points are added if neither of you breaks the other's dealbreakers, if you are in the same city, or if you share many interests, so a score can go above 100. Filters are checked both ways: you have to fit what they asked for too.
What happens when I show interest?
Nothing is sent to them. They are not notified and cannot see that you were interested. You move up in their own suggestions instead, and they decide on their own. If they say they are interested too, it is a match and you can start talking. You can show interest in up to 10 people a day.
If I decline a request, can they ask again?
Eventually. The request disappears, the sender is not told, and they cannot send another straight away or more than a few a day. To stop it for good, block them. In dating, skipping someone tells them nothing and takes them out of your suggestions for a while.
Can people see where I live?
Your country is public. Your city is shown only if you turn it on. Your coordinates are rounded to about a kilometre before they are stored, are never shown to anyone, and never reach another person's device. In dating, distance is a range such as same city or same country, never a number.
Which devices does it work on?
Android, any modern web browser, Windows and Linux, with one account and one history. macOS and iOS are planned but are not available yet. Push notifications work on Android and the web.
What happens to my messages if I delete my account?
You delete your account in the app, in Settings. It is disabled immediately and permanently erased 15 days later, and you can cancel during those 15 days by signing back in.
Your profile and account are removed. Messages you already sent stay, with the link to your account taken off them, so they show as coming from a former member. A conversation belongs to everyone in it, and deleting your side would remove part of someone else's record. If you want that content gone too, delete those messages first.
How old do I have to be?
18, or older if the age of majority where you live is higher. We ask for your date of birth when you sign up. We do not check it against a document yet. We consider that a real limitation and we are working on it.
Have a look around
Join a community, read a few conversations, and see whether it is your kind of place. You can always leave.
Free while we are testing. 18+ only.