Help Center

Short answers to the questions people ask most. Everything here matches how the app works today; numbers are the real limits.

Getting started

What do I need to start? An email address and a nickname. Confirm your email from the message we send you — a few things (making a place public, sending a place to Explore) wait until you have.

Is AtPlace free? Yes. There is no advertising and nothing to buy.

Where do I add my first place? On your Travel Map (Profile → Travel Map). Tap the + button, then tap the point on the map. Places are added from your own map, never from Explore.

Places

What does a place need? A name and a point on the map — that is enough for your own map. A public place also needs a photograph, a description and a category.

Public or private? New places are public unless you switch them to private. A public place is on your profile and can be seen by anyone who opens it. A private place is on your map only: nobody else sees, likes, saves or photographs it. You can change this at any time from the place menu.

I want only friends to see my places. Turn on Private account in Settings → Privacy. Then only followers you approve see your profile, your places and your live map. There is no per-place "friends only" setting — private account is that setting.

Can I edit a place? You can edit any place you created: name, description, category, position, best time, pace. Nobody else can change your place's description.

Why can't I delete my place? Because somebody else has added a photograph to it. You cannot delete another person's work — but you can step down from the place in the place menu. It stays public, your photographs stay, and looking after it passes to the person whose photograph on it is most liked.

"Did you mean X?" — what is that? You placed a pin very close to a place that already exists. If it is the same place, add your photograph to it instead. If it is a different place, say so — creating a place on your own map is never refused.

Photographs

How many photographs can I add? Up to 12 per place, and 50 a day in total. On places you did not create: 10 a day, and one per place per day.

What can be in the photograph? The place has to be the subject. A person may be in it, but the place must be visible. The cover photograph of a place must not contain a person.

Why was my photograph refused? Every upload is screened automatically before it is shown. Photographs that fail the screening — explicit, violent or otherwise not allowed — are refused and deleted. If you are sure it was a mistake, write to us and a person will look at it.

Who chooses the cover photograph? The person who looks after the place (its editor), and nobody else. Likes never change the cover. The most-liked photograph does get a badge in the gallery, and the editor is invited — not forced — to promote it.

Can I delete my photograph? Always, from the photograph's menu. A photograph removed by the place's editor or after reports stays on your profile for a while and is then deleted; you are told which of the two happened.

Someone posted a photograph that shouldn't be there. Open it and choose Report. Enough reports remove a photograph automatically; the editor of a place can also remove any photograph from it at once.

Explore

What is Explore? The shared map: our curated places plus the best places people have sent there. Anyone can browse it, and anyone signed in can add a photograph to a place on it.

How do I get my place on Explore? From the place menu, Send to Explore. The place needs a photograph, a description and a category, and it must be public. A private place cannot go.

Why was it refused as a duplicate? A place at the same point is already on Explore. The better move is offered on the spot: add your photograph to the one that is already there.

Why do I see stars instead of pins? Zoomed out, places are drawn as small gold stars so a busy region stays readable. Zoom in and they become pins with photographs. Stars are not tappable — zoom in to open a place.

Why don't I see every place at every zoom? Places on Explore appear from a zoom level that depends on how well known they are; zooming in only ever adds places, never hides them. A phone and a desktop at the same zoom see the same map.

Can I take my place off Explore? Yes: Leave Explore on the place panel. It stays on your profile.

What is a curated place? A place from our own catalogue. It has no owner, nobody can become its editor, and only we change its details — but you can like it, save it and add your photographs to it.

Trips

What is a trip? A group of your places, drawn as a route on your map, with a name and a story. A trip pin opens into its stops.

How do I make one? On your Travel Map, New trip: name it, choose public or private, then tap places on the map to add them in order. Done saves it.

What happens to the places if I delete a trip? Nothing. Places are yours independently of trips; deleting a trip only removes the grouping.

Live map

What is my live map? A public page — atplace.app/u/<your nickname>/map — that anyone can open by link, with no app and no account. It shows your public places, your public trips and your figures (places, countries, years) and updates on its own as you add more.

How do I share it? Profile → Share map. Copy the link, or send it straight to WhatsApp, Facebook or a story. For Instagram, AtPlace saves a picture of your map for the story and you paste the link on top.

How do I stop it being public? Make your account private, or make the places on it private. A private account's live map shows nothing to visitors.

People

Following. Follow anyone to see their new places in your Following feed. A private account has to approve you first; you will see "Requested" until they do.

Blocking. Block somebody from their profile. Any follow between you is removed and is not restored if you unblock. They cannot message you, and they no longer see your profile, your places or your live map — nor you theirs.

Muting. Mute somebody to stop seeing their activity without them knowing. Muting is invisible; blocking is not.

Verified badge. The badge marks accounts we have confirmed. It cannot be requested.

Messages

Who can message me? Your choice, in Settings → Privacy: everyone, only people you follow, or nobody.

Are messages private? They are between you and the other person and nobody else sees them in the app. They are not end-to-end encrypted; we can access them only to handle a report or a legal request.

Deleting a message. Deleting removes it from your side. It disappears from our servers once both sides have deleted it.

Account

I didn't get the confirmation email. Check spam, then request a new one from Settings → Account. The link is valid for a limited time.

I forgot my password. Forgot password on the sign-in screen. The reset link expires; request another if it has.

I got an email saying somebody tried to register with my address. Somebody entered your email on the sign-up form. Nothing happened to your account. If it was you and you have forgotten your password, use the reset link; otherwise ignore it.

Can I change my nickname? Yes, in Settings → Account. Your live map link changes with it, and old links stop working.

Where do I see my signed-in devices? Settings → Account → Sessions. You can sign out any of them, or all of them at once.

How do I delete my account? Settings → Account → Delete account. You are signed out everywhere immediately; the account and its content are erased after 24 hours. Places that hold other people's photographs stay, without your name, and pass to the next editor.

Something's not working

The map is blank or grey. Map imagery comes from a third party; a blocker or a strict network can stop it. Try another network or turn the blocker off for AtPlace.

A pin shows a grey square instead of a photograph. The photograph is still loading or was removed. Refresh the page.

Something else. Write to atplaceapp@gmail.com with what you did, what you expected, and a screenshot if you have one. We read everything.