CHATBACK FAQ

How can I contact you?
Use the “Contact Us” button under Settings tab or send e-mail to support@chatback.mobi

Why can’t I use all my Camera Roll pictures?
Chatback can only use pictures that have location information. To make sure the iPhone “Camera” app includes location information, go to system Settings>Privacy>Location Services and make sure the “Camera” is set to allow while using.

Who does chatback share my pictures with?
Chatback never shares your pictures with anybody unless you choose to post one in a chat. In that case, anyone who has access to the chat can see the picture you posted.

Who can see the messages and photos I post in a chat?
Only chatback users who have a picture taken “nearby” to your picture are allowed to see your chats. The number next to the chatback icon in the Places or Moments list tells you how many chatback users have a picture nearby. This number can change as more people join chatback, or take more pictures. When someone new has a picture nearby, they can see any messages that were previously posted.

What does “nearby” mean?
Chatback tries to identify clusters of pictures where people would be roughly within eyesight of one other, e.g., at a home, restaurant, club, or within about 150 feet of one another. In the “Moments” section, the picture must also be taken around the same time (+/- 3 hours). In the “Places” section, the picture can be taken any time, as long as it is nearby geographically.

How can I see who has photos near mine?
You can’t see who has pictures near yours unless they choose to make themselves visible, either by posting a message or by tapping the “check in” button. Everyone who has chosen to make themselves visible will appear in the visitors list, with a nickname and profile image. Otherwise, they will remain an anonymous member of the nearby user count.

Why do some of the icons have a green background?
The green highlight means there is something new to see, either a new posting in the chat, or a new member in the visitors list. In this case, the item will also move to the top of your Places or Moments list. When there is a new user with a photo nearby, the item will also move to the top of the list, but there will be no green highlighting unless they have made themselves visible.

How can I set my profile image?
When you first make yourself visible in a chat by posting a message or tapping “check in”, it will ask you to choose a nickname to use in that chat. Before hitting okay, tap on the profile image to the left of the nickname to choose an image from your camera roll. To change your profile image after you have joined, tap on the chatback icon to view the visitors list, and then tap on your own name. Then tap on “Change profile image”. This will change your image only in that chat. You cannot change your nickname within a chat, but you can choose a different nickname for different chats.

What can I post in a chatback chat?
You can post short text messages and photos that will not be offensive to other users. Nudity, harassment and commercial advertisements are prohibited. Please read the Terms of Use for further detail.

What can I do if I see offensive content?
If you swipe left on a message, an X button will appear in the right margin. Tapping it will give you the option to block all content from that user. You may also report the content for possible administrative action. Administrative action may include blocking the user from the entire system, if they have violated the Terms of Use.

How can I unblock somebody that I blocked?
You cannot unblock someone you have blocked.

How come I can’t see other chatback users who were at a party with me?
Chatback will not know they took any pictures at the party until the next time they open chatback. However, you can still post a message for them to see as soon as they do open chatback. This works even if they don’t have chatback installed yet! Just make sure they take a picture. You take one too. Then tell them to check out chatback sometime. Whenever they do, the picture they took near yours will pop to the top of their “Moments” list along with any message you want to leave for them.

How come we can’t see each other even after we both opened chatback?
The location information attached to photos is not always accurate, so chatback might not realize you were both in the same location. This is especially true if you take a picture soon after arriving somewhere. It can sometimes take several minutes for the phone to update its position from GPS satellites.

How can I see all the places a certain chatback user has been?
You can’t. You can only see whatever nickname they have chosen when they made themselves visible in a chat nearby to you. This might not be the same nickname they use in other chats, though it may often be.

What if I don’t want anyone on chatback to know I was at a certain location?
If you don’t post a message or “check-in” to that chat you will appear only as an anonymous member of a count. If you do not want to ever interact with that chat, you can swipe left to delete it from the Places or Moments list, and remove yourself from the count. If you delete an item from the Places list, it will also remove you from all of the Moments that occurred at that location. If you delete an item from the Moments list it will also remove you from the Places item, unless you have other Moments that occurred at that same location.

How can a stranger appear in a chat if I know they were never nearby?
The Places section includes anyone who was ever nearby to that location, so possibly they were there at a time when you were not. It is also possible for the location information attached to a photo to be incorrect, either due to device inaccuracy or intentional falsification. If you believe that location information has been intentionally falsified please Report it using the procedure described above for offensive content.

Can I send private messages?
You can send private messages to anyone who has made themselves visible in a chat, by tapping on their name in the visitors list. This will also make you visible in the visitors list, if you are not already.

What happens if I delete a photo from the Camera Roll?
Once you have obtained access to a chat, you can continue interacting with it even if you have deleted the photo(s) that were nearby to it. However, it may be hard to identify the chat in the Places or Moments display without a photo taken there.

How can I access my chatback account from a different device?
You cannot easily use the same account on multiple devices, but you can migrate your account to a new device. Your chatback account information is stored in the iOS keychain, which you can migrate to a new device by saving an encrypted backup to iTunes and then restoring the backup to your new device. Note, however, that if you have more than 1 device using the same account, only one of them can be active at a time.