Member FAQ

Answers to the questions members ask most.

Can't find it here? For a question about how to use Cohorta, ask in your community's Facebook group. Someone will usually know, and the answer helps everyone else with the same question. If something is genuinely broken, email support@cohorta.me.

Never send technical problems to the Facebook group or to your group's admins. They do not run Cohorta and cannot fix them, which only delays a resolution.

For another member's behaviour, report through the app: tap their avatar, then Report profile. Your report goes to Cohorta Support.

Getting started

What is Cohorta?

Cohorta is a connection app for real communities, bringing dating, friendship and events together. You join through your own group, so everyone you see belongs to a community you are already part of, rather than a large open pool of strangers.

Who are the Ambassadors?

Ambassadors are members who promote and support Cohorta in your community's main Facebook group. They keep an eye on the group's feed and help answer questions, and they're the ones who release the monthly group access code in the main Facebook chat. They receive free Cohorta membership for doing it. They are not Cohorta staff and can't fix account or technical problems; for those, use the routes above.

How do I join?

You need an invite from your group: a group code posted in your community's Facebook group each month, released by the Ambassadors. Open cohorta.app in your browser, enter the code, and create your profile.

Cohorta is for adults aged 18 and over: you give your date of birth when you set up your profile, and a date of birth under 18 cannot be saved. You must also complete the 18+ age check with Yoti; your date of birth alone is not enough.

New joiners subscribe with 30 days free from sign-up and £0 due today; the first payment is on day 31. See Getting started for the full walkthrough.

Where do I download the app? I can't find it in the App Store

Cohorta runs in your browser and is not available to download from the App Store. Open cohorta.app and add it to your home screen when you're asked. It then has its own icon and behaves just like any other app.

A downloadable app will follow later. For now the web app is the way in.

Add it to your home screen rather than leaving it as a browser tab. It looks and works better, and it's the only way to get notifications; until Cohorta is installed on your home screen, your phone has nothing to notify you from. If you tapped "Not now", you can install it later from Profile → Account.

Do I need an emailed code every time I sign in?

No. The code is only used to set up your account and confirm you're a member of the group. Once you're in, you stay signed in.

You'll only need a new one if you delete your account and later come back, and in that case you'll need a current, live group code, because we have to check you're still a member of the group.

Do I have to use it for dating?

No. When you set up your profile you choose whether you're open to dating, friendship, or both, and you can change that any time. If you only want the events, complete your profile and simply ignore the discovery side.

Which parts of my profile are required?

Basics is required, and so is the dating or friendship section, but only the one you picked. Each section only appears once you've chosen it, so if you selected friendship alone you'll never see the dating questions at all. Pick both and you'll fill in both.

At a Glance and your first prompt are also required. Everything else marked optional is genuinely optional, though the more you answer, the better Cohorta works for you.

I'm not getting my sign-in code

The most common cause is a typo in your email address; for security, we deliberately won't tell you an address is wrong, so double-check what you typed and try again. Codes expire quickly, so use the newest one. If it says too many attempts, that's our anti-bot protection: close the app, wait an hour, and try again.

It says my profile isn't complete, but I've filled everything in

The percentage refers to required sections only. The one people usually miss is At a Glance (your mini bio), just under your photos; anything still marked "Required" needs finishing. Fields marked "optional" never block you.

Until your required sections are complete, Discover, Likes You, Events and Chats all stay locked; only your Profile tab is open. Finish "Required", and the rest unlock straight away.

How do my photos work?

Add them one at a time; each photo saves as soon as it appears in its box, so there's no separate save step and nothing is lost if you close the app partway through. You can reorder or replace any of them later from your profile.

If the picker won't show the photo you want, it's usually because that photo lives in a cloud library (Amazon Photos, Google Photos and the like) rather than on the phone itself. Save it to your camera roll first, then add it.

Why can I only pick three?

Some sections, your interests and your Happy Places, cap you at three on purpose. It keeps profiles readable, and it makes people choose what genuinely matters to them rather than listing everything. Pick the three that say the most about you; you can swap them whenever you like.

What Facebook link do you want, and where do I find it?

We ask for the link to your own Facebook profile so we can confirm you're a genuine member of the group. It's the one detail that keeps the community closed to outsiders.

It is simply the address in your browser when you're looking at your own Facebook profile. Open Facebook in a browser, go to your profile, and copy the whole address from the bar at the top. Guessing what it might be won't work; it has to be copied.

Matching and messaging

How does matching work?

In Discover you'll see profiles of other members in your community. If you like someone and they like you back, it's a match. Nobody is told when you dismiss someone.

I liked someone and now they've disappeared. Did they block me?

No. This is how Cohorta works. When you like someone, their profile leaves your Discover feed for good: either they match with you, or they're gone. They haven't blocked you and nothing's broken; they're simply waiting on their side. If they match you, they reappear in your chats. There's no list of everyone you've liked, which is deliberate; it prevents stalking-type behaviour.

What happens when I dismiss someone?

They leave your Discover feed, but dismissing isn't final. Once you've been through everyone, Review skipped profiles brings them back round for another look. Nobody is ever told that you dismissed them.

What happens if I dismiss someone who has liked me?

That's the one choice that is final. When someone has liked you and you dismiss them (on some screens this button is still labelled 'Pass'), that pairing is closed for good, in both directions: they won't see you again and you won't see them. It's deliberately different from dismissing in Discover, which you can always revisit. As ever, nobody is told.

Why can I only see a few people?

Nearly always because you've already been through them. Everyone you like leaves your feed for good (they either match with you or they're gone), and everyone you dismiss is set aside until you choose to review them, so a feed that looked full on day one thins out as you work through it. When you've seen everyone, Review skipped profiles lets you go back through the people you dismissed.

Beyond that: profiles that aren't finished yet don't appear, and you only ever see members of your own group(s). Your search distance is set to nationwide by default, so that's rarely the cause, but it's worth checking you haven't narrowed it.

How does location work? What's the difference between my home location and my current location?

You control two separate location settings.

Where you're based: your home area. This is what people searching their own area will find you by, so it's the one to set properly.
Current location: a temporary "I'm here right now" setting for when you're away. Use it to look around somewhere else: away for the weekend, or visiting a city you don't know.

Both appear on your profile, deliberately. If you're browsing Manchester while your profile says you're based in Bristol, people can see you're visiting rather than local, which saves any confusion once you start talking.

Cohorta never tracks you and never moves your location on its own. It changes only when you change it.

Who can see my profile?

Other members of the group(s) you've joined. In their role as group owner, an owner is given only your display name, profile photo and email address, as explained below. Your profile isn't public and isn't shown outside your communities.

Group owners earn a share of their members' subscriptions, so you know that the person running your group has an interest in you joining.

What a group owner sees. So that they can run their own community, the owner of your group is given your display name, your profile photo and your full email address — and nothing else — for the members of their own group only. We send that list to them by email, outside the app, and we'll tell you before your details are sent for the first time. People who have left the group aren't in the list. They use it to confirm that people belong to their group, and to tell us whether someone asking to join should be let in; we make the decision, not them. Their agreement with us says they may not use your email address for marketing, may not share or forward the list, and must delete it once they've finished the check.

An owner is not Cohorta staff and has no access to our systems and no portal of any kind. An owner never sees your dating preference, your messages, who has reported anyone, the contents of any report, or anything at all about members of other groups. An owner can raise a concern with us and can ask us to remove someone from their group, but Cohorta decides; an owner cannot ban you, is never told who reported anyone, and you always have the right to appeal to us.

How does messaging work?

Once you match, you can message each other in the app. Nobody can message you unless you've matched them, and you never need to share your phone number.

Events

How do I find events?

Open the Events tab to see what's coming up in your community and any other Cohorta groups you've joined. You can filter by location and date, so you find what's near you, and use Previous Events to look back at what's already happened.

What do "Going" and "Interested" mean?

Going means you plan to attend; it adds you to the attendee count and unlocks the event's message board. Interested is a lighter "keeping an eye on this" marker, counted separately. You can change your mind any time.

I tapped a Facebook event link and it just took me to my Facebook home page

That's Facebook's doing, and it's outside our control. When the link opens, Facebook decides whether to hand you to its own app or to your browser, and if you're not already signed in to the right Facebook account there, it drops the link and drops you on the home page instead.

The way round it: copy the event link from inside Cohorta and paste it into your browser. As long as you're signed in there to the Facebook account that belongs to the group, it will take you to the event every time.

Does my RSVP update Facebook?

No. Nothing you do on Cohorta is sent to Facebook. Marking yourself Going lets other Cohorta members see you're attending; it's separate from any Facebook event.

What is an event message board?

Every event has a message board where everyone going can chat about it in one place. You need to have RSVP'd Going to unlock it and see and post on it.

Notifications

How do I turn notifications on?

Two things need to be switched on: install the app to your home screen, then say yes when it asks to send notifications. If you skipped that, or want to check, you can also turn notifications on for Cohorta in your phone's Settings app (both need to allow them for notifications to arrive). You can change which alerts you get (likes, matches, messages and events) any time in Profile → Account. Likes are off by default, and you can mute a single busy event without muting everything else.

Safety

How do I block or report someone?

To report a member: tap their avatar, then Report profile, choose the reason that fits and tell us what happened. The reasons are:

Fake profile or pretending to be someone
Harassment, abuse or hate
Sexual or explicit content
Sharing an intimate image of me without consent
Scam or asking for money
They seem to be under 18
Something that happened off the app
Something else

Every report goes to Cohorta Support. Group owners and group admins never receive reports, never see who made one, and never see the evidence. We review every report and a person decides what happens next.

Reporting is confidential; the person reported is not told. If you're unhappy with how it's handled, appeal at support@cohorta.me, and for anything unsafe or illegal contact us directly as well.

To block someone: choose Block in this group or Block globally on any profile or conversation. They can't see your profile or contact you, you won't see them, and they aren't notified. Blocking is always available regardless of any report.

See Safety & community guidelines.

Does Cohorta read my messages?

Cohorta has two kinds of conversation, with different privacy and moderation arrangements.

One-to-one messages between matched members are private. We do not read them and we do not scan them. The only time anyone at Cohorta sees a one-to-one message is when somebody in that conversation reports it to us; then we look at what was reported so we can deal with it.
Group chats and event message boards are open; they are visible to Cohorta and are moderated, checked automatically by AI against our Community Standards to flag anything that may break them. A person always decides what happens next: nobody is banned, and no content is removed, on the basis of an automated check alone.

You can always tell from the app which kind of conversation you are in. Chat on Cohorta is text only: there are no photos or files in any conversation, and the only images on Cohorta are profile photos.

Are there private or incognito modes?

No. There is no private mode and no incognito mode for you to switch on. Cohorta does not offer either.

Why does Cohorta ask my gender and who I want to meet?

Your answers are what the matching works from, and they can reveal sensitive information, so we tell you plainly on the screen where you answer:

"Your answer may show your sexuality. We use it only to match you and to show you to the people you want to meet. By choosing an answer you give your explicit consent. You can change your answer at any time, or delete your account to remove it."

This consent is for the gender and connection-preference questions, as your answers may imply your sexuality; Cohorta does not have a separate question that asks for your sexuality directly.

Cost, cancelling and refunds

How much does Cohorta cost?

It's £4.99 a month after your free period. If you were a member before subscriptions started, you get 14 days free from the day you subscribe, with your first payment on day 15. New joiners get 30 days free from sign-up, with their first payment on day 31. Public launch is 2 October 2026.

Existing members need a subscription from 23 October 2026; check the date in the email we sent you. If you do not subscribe, you cannot use Cohorta until you do; your account and everything in it stay as they are, and nothing is deleted.

You are not charged when you sign up; you give Stripe a payment method, but no money is taken then. Your first-charge date is shown when you subscribe, and we remind you 3 days before your first payment, by email, and in the app and by push where you have them turned on. We never charge sooner than 14 days after you subscribe, so if you cancel before your free period ends you are never charged. You subscribe on the Cohorta website and payment is taken securely by Stripe.

How do I cancel?

You subscribe on the Cohorta website, so you manage everything there: open your account on the website (there's a link in the app) and choose Cancel. Cancelling stops the next renewal; you keep access until the end of the period you've already paid for. There's no App Store or Google Play subscription to cancel.

Can I get a refund?

We take all payments directly, so refunds come from us. Email support@cohorta.me with your receipt.

You also have a legal cooling-off right to cancel within 14 days of the day you subscribe (for new joiners, the day you sign up), which you cannot be asked to give up. Because existing members get 14 days free from subscribing and new joiners get 30 days free from sign-up, and no payment is taken for at least 14 days, cancelling inside that period costs you nothing; there is no charge to refund, and nothing is deducted for the days you used.

If you cancel part-way through a month you keep access to the end of the month you have paid for. Billing mistakes (a duplicate charge, or a charge after you cancelled in time) are always refunded in full; email us with your receipt.

Full details are in the Refund & Cancellation Policy and Payments & billing.

Your account and data

How do I delete my account and data?

Open Profile → Account in the app and choose delete. Your profile comes down straight away and nobody can find you. We then erase or anonymise your personal data in line with our Privacy Policy: there is a three-month safety window first (up to two years if the account was banned), after which your messages and the rest of your data are deleted. Some records we have to keep: payment records for six years, and safety and moderation records for as long as our duties under the Online Safety Act require. For a copy of your data, a correction, or any other data-rights request, email privacy@cohorta.me and a person will handle it.

What's the difference between cancelling and deleting?

Cancelling stops future payments but keeps your account. Deleting removes your account; we keep some records for a limited time afterwards, as our Privacy Policy explains. You can do either at any time.

How do I get a copy of my data?

Email privacy@cohorta.me from your account email and ask; you have the right to a copy of the personal data we hold about you, and we'll respond within one month. If your request is complicated, or you have made several, we may need longer and we will tell you within that first month. There is no self-service download: a person puts it together for you. The same address handles corrections and any other data-rights request, as set out in our Privacy Policy.