Safety and control

Verification confirms that an account belongs to a real person. It is optional, and it matters: you can restrict your own Sparks so that only verified members can see or join them, and you can prioritise verified people when deciding what to join.

Verification is not a background check and we never present it as one. It raises the cost of pretending to be someone else, which is the single most useful thing a spontaneous meetup app can do.

Every Spark you create carries one of four visibility settings:

• Everyone: anyone nearby who matches your filters can discover it.
• Connections only: limited to people you are already connected with.
• Verified only: limited to verified members.
• Connections or verified only: your connections plus verified members.

Discovery can also be narrowed by distance, age, gender, interests and your own safety and visibility preferences, so you are not broadcasting to the whole city unless you want to be.

Connections can message each other directly. Anyone who is not a connection has to send a message request first, and you can accept or decline it. Declining is quiet and final, and it does not tell the other person anything about you.

Reporting and blocking are available on profiles, Sparks and conversations. Blocking removes you from that person's view, including your Sparks. Reports reach our team with the context we need to act, and repeated or serious violations end in account removal.

• Pick public places for a first meeting: a cafe, a park, a busy street.
• Tell a friend where you are going and roughly when you expect to be back.
• Keep the first Spark short. There is no obligation to stay.
• Trust the feeling that something is off, and leave without explaining yourself.
• Keep conversation inside ReaLife until you have decided the person is a connection.
• Report anything that crosses a line, even if you left the Spark without incident.

If you are in immediate danger, contact local emergency services first. In the United States the general emergency number is 911. Report the account to us afterwards so we can remove it and review anyone else who was exposed.

Safety work is never finished. If something in the app feels unsafe or a control is missing, write to us through the contact page. Dedicated safety contact details and response times will be published before the public launch.