Help / FAQ

Where does iSawYou use my location?

A few places: finding your current city with Find My City in the Cities panel, centering the map on the Search page, saving an area for Alerts (only when you press the button), and checking whether you're standing in the exact spot when you suggest a new zone - that's what qualifies a suggestion for instant approval instead of the usual review.

What happens if I deny it, or it's not available?

Nothing breaks - every one of those features has a fallback. The Cities panel and Search just ask you to pick a city or area yourself. A zone suggestion without a location match still submits normally; it's reviewed by a person instead of approved instantly.

Why does it sometimes not work, even though I haven't denied it?

Accuracy depends on your device's own hardware (a phone's GPS is far more precise than most laptops/desktops) and can vary by country - some regions simply have less precise location infrastructure. A denial can also happen automatically: most browsers stop prompting and quietly block a site's location access after you decline it a few times, without always making that obvious in your settings.

How do I turn location back on for this site?

Check your browser's own per-site permissions, not just your device's general location settings - usually available from the site-info icon next to the address bar, or your browser's own site settings list. Find isawyou.dev specifically and set Location back to "Ask" or "Allow."

What are Alerts?

When someone posts a sighting that could be about you - in a city or zone you follow, or near an area you saved, and with the Who Saw Who you chose in Alert settings - it shows up as an Alert. Alerts are free.

Where do I see them?

On Feeds, at the top of the list: Alerts in your cities (and your saved area) on My Cities, Alerts at your zones on My Zones, just under the city or zone buttons and above the other sightings, under a row with a blue bolt that counts them ("5 Alerts"); each Alert has blue rings behind the poster's picture and, faintly, behind its text. A new Alert sends a ripple out from the picture the first time you see it. Alerts always show, even when the Who Saw Who buttons are hiding other sightings. The Alerts page (Alerts in the menu) lists every Alert from the last 30 days.

How do I know there's a new one?

A blue badge on the Feeds button, a blue dot on the tab, and a blue bolt next to Alerts in the menu. All three mean the same thing - an Alert you haven't seen yet - and go out together as soon as you've seen it: on its Feeds tab, on the Alerts page, or by opening the sighting. A seen Alert stays pinned until you open it, tap its × or clear it.

What do × and Clear All do?

The × on an Alert hides that one Alert everywhere - from Feeds and from the Alerts page - and it won't come back. Nobody is told, and it doesn't change what you're sent later.

Clear All removes the Alerts you're looking at. On a Feeds tab, that's the tab's Alerts, from Feeds and from the Alerts page. The other tab's Alerts stay.

On the Alerts page, it's every Alert.

Opening a sighting takes it off the Feeds tab, but it stays on the Alerts page until you clear it. Alerts drop off by themselves after 30 days.

Can I get them on my phone, computer or by email?

Yes, in Alert settings: notifications on each phone or computer you choose (on iPhone and iPad, add iSawYou to your Home Screen first), with quiet hours at night, and an email summary daily or weekly.

How do I know my Alerts were sent?

Subscribers can send a sighting as an Alert by leaving "Send alerts" on when they post. Once it's live, the "Your sighting is live!" pop-up says your Alerts are going out, and a notification follows telling you how many people they reached. If nobody's Alert settings match the sighting, nothing is sent and it doesn't use one of your monthly Alerts.

Do Alerts follow where I am?

No. An area is saved only when you press the button, and only to about 100 yards. Your location is never followed in the background.

What's a Charter Member?

Everyone who joins iSawYou by January 3, 2027 gets their first year of the subscription free, with no card and nothing renewing by itself. When the year ends, Charter Members can keep their subscription at the Charter price, for as long as they stay subscribed.

How does subscription billing work?

Your subscription is billed once a year, in advance, through Stripe. It renews automatically each year until you cancel, and we email you about a month before each renewal with the date and the amount.

How do I cancel?

Open extraVert Subscription from your account menu and choose Manage Billing. Cancelling stops the next renewal; you keep your subscription until the end of the year you've paid for.

I renewed by mistake. Can I get my money back?

Yes. Within 14 days of a renewal, open extraVert Subscription from your account menu and choose "Refund my renewal". We refund it in full straight away and end your subscription; your account, sightings and Verified badge stay. If the button isn't there, email [email protected].

Do I keep the Verified badge if I cancel?

Yes. The Verified badge is yours to keep, whether you bought it on its own or got it with a subscription.

How do I report a sighting?

Tap Flag on the sighting and choose a reason. If it's about you, choose "This post is about me". You don't need an account for that.

How do I report someone in a chat?

If you want the contact to stop straight away, Block them in the chat. To tell us, use the Contact form, choose "Report a Problem", and tell us their name, what happened and roughly when. We aim to look at reports within 72 hours.

What if I think someone is under 18?

Flag their sighting or use the Contact form. iSawYou is for adults only, and we remove the accounts of anyone under 18.