Support
A real person reads every message. Email hello@touchgrassinitiative.com and we'll get back to you — and if you're reporting someone, we'll act on it within 24 hours.
Last updated: September 4, 2026
One address, and it goes to a human: hello@touchgrassinitiative.com
To get a fast, useful answer, tell us: your username or the email on your account, your iPhone model and iOS version, the app version, what you did, what happened, and what you expected instead. A screenshot is worth three paragraphs.
Gathers is not an emergency service. If someone is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first. Then tell us, and we'll act on our side.
Report a message straight from chat, and anything else by email. Either way, you don't need to explain yourself to anyone but us.
What happens next. We review the report within 24 hours. If it breaks our guidelines we remove the content, and depending on what it is we warn, suspend or permanently ban the account. The person you reported is never told who reported them. There is zero tolerance for objectionable content or abusive users on Gathers.
Separately, Gathers blocks slurs and other prohibited terms in chat automatically — those messages are rejected before they're ever delivered to anyone.
Blocking is instant and doesn't need our involvement. Press and hold any message from that member and choose Block. Their messages disappear from your view straight away and stay gone. A block stays in place until you tell us otherwise — if you ever want one lifted, email us and we'll remove it.
Blocking and reporting are separate on purpose: block whenever you want, for any reason at all. Report when you want us to do something about it.
Forgot your password. On the sign-in screen, choose the password reset option. We email you a code — enter it and set a new password. If the email doesn't arrive, check spam, and use the "Resend code" link.
Signed in with Apple and can't find your email. If you chose "Hide My Email," Apple gave us a private relay address instead of your real one. That's fine — everything works, and mail we send still reaches you through Apple.
Delete your account. You can do this yourself, right now, without asking us:
This permanently deletes your account, profile, messages, friends, outside ledger, RSVPs, saved gatherings and every gathering you host. It cannot be undone. It does not cancel an Apple subscription — turn off renewal in Settings › Apple Account › Subscriptions first. If you'd rather we did it for you, email us from your account's email address. Full detail is in the Privacy Policy.
Get a copy of your data, or correct something you can't edit in the app — email us and we'll sort it out.
FAQ
To tell you how far away a gathering is. That calculation happens on your phone — your coordinates are never sent to our servers. If you say no, nothing breaks: Gathers uses the home base you typed into your profile instead, and we won't ask again and again. You can change the permission any time in iOS Settings.
No. There is no analytics SDK, no advertising SDK, and no third-party tracker in the app. We don't use the advertising identifier and we don't sell data. That's not a marketing line — it's the dependency list.
Chat is only open to people who have RSVP'd as going or interested. Join the gathering and the conversation appears. This is enforced in the database, not just in the app, so nobody can read a gathering's chat from the outside.
Yes. Press and hold your own message and choose delete. It's removed for everyone in that gathering.
Block them immediately — press and hold one of their messages and choose Block, and they're gone from your view. Then report it so we can act on the account. We review reports within 24 hours and permanently remove people who abuse others. If you feel unsafe in person, contact local emergency services first, then email us.
There's no delete button for a hosted gathering yet — email us and we'll take it down, usually the same day. Either way, tell the people who RSVP'd in the gathering's chat first; it's the decent thing to do. Deleting your account also removes every gathering you host.
Gathers is free to use. Two optional monthly subscriptions, Gathers Plus and Gathers Family, unlock Apple Health fill-in, goals and streaks, the friends board, and the household features. They're billed by Apple through In-App Purchase — we never see your card — and you manage or cancel them in Settings › Apple Account › Subscriptions. Prices are shown in the app before you buy.
Cancel in Settings › Apple Account › Subscriptions › Gathers; you keep the features until the paid period ends. Refunds are handled by Apple at reportaproblem.apple.com — we can't issue them ourselves. Deleting your account does not cancel the subscription.
Chat tab › Friends › type their exact username. Nobody is suggested and there's no member list to browse; a friendship only exists once both of you say yes. After that you can message each other directly. To report a direct message, email us with a screenshot.
With Gathers Plus, tap Connect Apple Health on the home screen. iOS asks your permission. Gathers then reads only your Time in Daylight and workouts, on your device, and shows them as suggestions with a Log it button. Nothing is saved until you tap it. Revoke access any time in Settings › Health › Data Access & Devices. Apple doesn't tell us whether you said no, so if suggestions never appear, check there first — and note Time in Daylight needs an Apple Watch.
With Gathers Family: Family tab › create your household › add a child (a first name is enough) › tap Pairing code. On the child's device, install Gathers and choose "Pairing a child's device? Enter your family code" on the sign-in screen. The child can then log time outside and use the family chat, and nothing else. Unpair from the same place at any time. Children 16 and older get their own account and join your household with an invite code instead.
iPhone and iPad, in portrait. A hand-me-down iPad is a fine child device — pairing works the same way. If it won't install or launch, tell us your device and iOS version and we'll dig in.
Go to Account › Security and switch on quick unlock. The check is done by iOS — your biometric data never leaves your device and we never see it.
Genuinely, yes. Email hello@touchgrassinitiative.com with what you did and what happened. Small app, short queue — you'll get a real reply.
Our Privacy Policy explains exactly what Gathers collects and what it doesn't. Our Terms of Use include the community guidelines that reported content is measured against.
Gathers and touchgrassinitiative.com are operated by Justin Karl Sypek (SYTEK Consulting, LLC). Support contact: hello@touchgrassinitiative.com.