Frequently Asked Questions

BuddyMe is an app for finding people to do activities with – whether it's grabbing coffee, playing sports, going to concerts, or just hanging out. Unlike dating apps, we're focused on friendship and real-life meetups.

Yes, the basic features of BuddyMe are free. Opening Loops and joining them costs nothing, as often as you like. For more visibility and additional benefits, there's BuddyMe Premium.

No, BuddyMe is not a dating app. We focus on friendship and shared activities. The app is designed so that romantic advances are unwelcome and can be reported. Our motto: Activities, not dates.

BuddyMe is available throughout Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Particularly active communities exist in Berlin, Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Frankfurt, Vienna, Zurich, and many other cities.

Yes, you must be at least 13 years old to use BuddyMe. There is no upper age limit – BuddyMe is for anyone looking for activity partners, regardless of age.

Download the BuddyMe app from the App Store (iPhone) or Play Store (Android). Register with your email address or use "Sign in with Apple" or "Sign in with Google". Complete your profile and you're ready to go.

Go to Profile → Privacy → Delete my account. Your data will be deleted within 30 days. An active Premium subscription must be canceled separately through the channel you subscribed on (App Store, Play Store, or for web subscriptions in the web app under Profile → Premium → Manage subscription).

Tap "Profile" in the app → "Edit Profile". There you can change your photo, name, bio, interests, and city. Changes are saved immediately.

Yes, no phone number is required for registration – you can sign up with email, Apple, or Google. Your phone number stays private on BuddyMe. You chat in the app until you meet, and sort out anything else when you meet.

Video verification lets you prove you're real by recording a short video. You follow a quick on-screen instruction, and we compare your video to your profile photo. Your video is never stored — it's discarded immediately after comparison. Once verified, your profile is marked as verified.

Go to Profile → Privacy → Export my data. We'll prepare a file with all your BuddyMe data including your profile, Loops, messages, and buddies. You'll receive an email with a download link when it's ready. The link is valid for 7 days.

When you say you're "Open for..." something, you open a Loop — an activity a few people can join. For example: "Open for coffee this week" or "Open for hiking this weekend". Others nearby see it and join with one tap.

When you see a Loop that interests you, tap "I'm in" — that is all it takes, you are in and in the Loop chat. If the Loop has no time yet, "I'd join" says you are up for it in principle. If it is full, you can join the waitlist. Some hosts pick who is in themselves — those cards say "On request".

You land in the Loop chat with everyone else who is in. That is where you settle the place and the time — no need to exchange phone numbers. You can cancel anytime; your seat simply opens up again.

Most Loops are open: tap “I'm in” and you're in. Some hosts want to know who's coming first. Then the card says “On request”, you send a join request, and the host accepts or declines it. You hear back right away.

When you open a Loop as a woman, “Show to women first” is switched on. Women, your buddies and people who follow you see it first. Once a woman joins, or after two days at the latest, everyone sees it. You can switch it off under “Who can join?” when you open the Loop.

If a Loop is already full, you can join the waitlist. When someone cancels you move up and we tell you right away. You can also ask to be told when that host opens a new Loop.

Open the Loop and tap “Leave”. Your seat opens up again straight away and someone from the waitlist moves up — the earlier you cancel, the better for everyone. If you're the host, you can cancel the Loop — everyone gets told — or hand it over to someone in the group who keeps it going.

As the host you can repeat a Loop that had a date under My Loops → Expired. The new Loop is open right away, and everyone who was there can join again.

In Vienna and Graz, BuddyMe shows you this week's public events: running groups, pub quizzes, language cafés, workshops and more. Tap "I'd go": anyone from BuddyMe who wants to go too joins your group, and you settle in the chat whether you go. If someone is already in, tap "I'd go too" to join their group. The details come from the organiser, so please check the time and sign-up on their page. Events are 18+.

You can join as many Loops as you like — that is free. You can have up to 5 of your own open at a time, so the feed stays readable for everyone. Existing chats and buddy connections are unlimited.

In a 1:1 chat, open the menu and choose "End conversation" to close a chat politely — the other person is notified and the chat moves to your archive. Ended it by accident? Open the archived chat and choose "Unarchive Chat". Only the person who ended the conversation can restore it, and only while the other person is still in the chat. You leave a Loop chat from its menu. As the host, you delete it there with "Delete Chat" once your Loop is over or you deleted it.

Safety is our top priority. All profiles are moderated, and you can verify your identity with a short video. Your profile is then marked as verified. You can block and report users at any time, phone numbers are never shared without your consent, and you control who can contact you.

Your profile is visible to other registered BuddyMe users. In Profile → Privacy, you can control who can contact you. You can also choose to show your photos only to buddies and people you're chatting with — everyone else will see a placeholder instead. If you opened the app today, your card in the People area says "Active today" — never a precise time, and there is no live status.

Yes! Go to Profile → Privacy and enable "Visible to buddies only". When enabled, only your buddies and people you're actively chatting with can see your photos (profile picture and gallery). Everyone else sees a placeholder avatar. This gives you more privacy while staying active on BuddyMe.

Tap on the person's profile → tap the three dots (···). You have three options: • Hide: Removes them from your feed. They won't know. Use when you're not interested in someone. • Block: Completely prevents contact. Ends chats and removes buddy connections. Use for harassment or safety concerns. • Report: Flags the person for review by our moderation team. All reports are taken seriously. You can manage hidden users in Profile → Privacy → Hidden Users.

Never. BuddyMe does not pass your phone number to anyone. For your safety, you chat in the app until you meet. Settle time and place in the chat, everything else when you meet.

For your safety, you chat in the app until you meet. Settle time and place in the chat, everything else when you meet. This protects you and others while you're still getting to know each other.

After ten messages in a row with no reply, a 1:1 chat pauses until the other person writes. In a Loop chat it's twenty, until someone else says something. As soon as a reply comes in, you can continue. This keeps anyone from being flooded with messages, and in a normal conversation you'll never notice it. If you like writing in short lines, put several thoughts into one message.

Suggest a time and place in the Loop chat. Once you both agree, you're all set — no need to exchange phone numbers.

Meet in a public place (café, park, etc.), tell someone about your meetup, don't share private phone numbers or addresses too early, and trust your gut. You can end the meetup at any time if you feel uncomfortable.

Buddies are people you want to stay connected with beyond a single activity. Buddy connections are permanent and let you message each other anytime. You can add or remove buddies from any chat.

With Premium you get: more visibility for your Loops in the feed, you see who looked at your profile in the last 90 days, and you can stay invisible yourself with incognito mode.

With Premium you can switch on incognito mode in the app under Profile → Privacy. You then look at profiles without showing up under “Who viewed you” — earlier visits are hidden too, as long as the mode is on. You still see who viewed your profile. What you actively do stays visible: joining a Loop, inviting or messaging someone. Blocking and reporting work as always.

Manage Premium through the channel you subscribed on. On iPhone: Settings → your name → Subscriptions → BuddyMe → Cancel. On Android: Play Store → Menu → Subscriptions → BuddyMe → Cancel. On the web: in the web app under Profile → Premium → Manage subscription. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.

Refunds for in-app purchases are handled by Apple or Google. Contact Apple Support (iPhone) or Google Play Support (Android) to request a refund. We have no direct influence over app store refund decisions.

This can have several reasons: 1) Make sure your city is correctly set in your profile. 2) Loops from nearby cities will also appear in your feed. 3) In some regions, there are fewer active users – be the one who opens the first Loop!

Go to Profile → Notifications and enable the desired notifications. Also make sure BuddyMe is allowed to send notifications in your device settings (iPhone: Settings → BuddyMe → Notifications).

BuddyMe is currently available in German and English. The app automatically detects your device language. You can also switch the language manually under Profile → Language.

Yes, you can access BuddyMe at app.buddyme.me. Core features like browsing Loops, joining, chatting, and Premium subscriptions all work in the browser. Push notifications are only available in the mobile app. For the full experience, we recommend downloading the app.