Everything you need to know about posting, privacy, and how the map works.
Basics
VibeNow is a real-time local map where people share short-lived reports about what is happening around them — events, incidents, music, free stuff, and anything worth a heads-up. Pins expire automatically so the map always shows what is live right now.
Yes, completely free. No subscription, no ads, no premium tiers. Just open it and use it.
No account is needed to browse, post, like, and comment. Creating a free account unlocks profiles, direct messages, communities, followers, and a points and badges system.
VibeNow works anywhere in the world — the map centers on your current location. Activity density depends on how many people are using it in your area.
Posting vibes
Tap the + Add vibe button, pick a category emoji, write a short description of what you see, and hit Post. Your vibe appears on the map instantly.
User vibes expire automatically after 6 hours. If your vibe is still relevant, you can extend it once — tap ⏰ +6h in the pin popup to keep it live for another six hours.
If you posted a vibe in the current session you can remove it using the delete option in the pin popup. Vibes also disappear automatically after 6 hours. As the owner you can also extend it once with ⏰ +6h or pin it to your profile with 📌.
Yes. Open your profile and scroll to Recent vibes. Any expired vibe shows a ↩ Repost button. Tapping it opens the post form pre-filled with the same type, text, and video link — you can edit before publishing. The repost is a fresh pin with a new 6-hour timer.
Yes. When posting a vibe you can attach a YouTube or TikTok link. YouTube videos are shown as an embedded player; TikTok links open the original video in a new tab. The media appears in the pin popup, on the vibe detail page, and in your profile gallery.
There is a short cooldown between posts to keep the map from being spammed. The timer is shown in the post form. Once it counts down you can post again.
Party/event, police/incident, music, danger/hazard, free stuff, food/pop-up, animals, nature, and general. Pick the emoji that best fits what you are seeing.
Map & pins
When several vibes are close together on the map they are grouped to avoid overlap. The +N badge shows how many extra vibes are hidden in that cluster. Zoom in to see them individually.
This is the signal strength of a vibe based on likes, comments, and how recently it was posted. New = just posted, Rising = getting attention, Trusted = confirmed by the community.
System pins come from external data sources like traffic services or event platforms. They are styled differently so you can tell them apart from community reports.
When there is no recent activity near you, a few placeholder vibes may be shown to demonstrate how the map works. They are clearly marked and not real community reports.
New vibes appear in real time as people post them. The map also silently refreshes in the background to catch any updates your connection may have missed.
The heatmap overlays a colour gradient on the map showing where vibe activity is densest. Tap the 🔥 button near the locate button to toggle it on or off. Hot spots mean lots of recent reports in that area.
Tap 🔖 Save in any pin popup to bookmark a vibe. Your saved vibes appear on your profile page under "Saved vibes". Bookmarks survive vibe expiry — even after the original pin is deleted from the map, your saved copy retains the text, type, and media so you can still play it back. You can remove a bookmark at any time by tapping ✕ next to it on your profile.
Yes. Open any vibe with a YouTube link and tap the − button to minimize it into a slim bar at the bottom of the screen. The music keeps playing while you pan and zoom the map. Tap the bar to expand back to full view, or ✕ to stop. You can have up to two vibes minimized at the same time.
Trust & safety
The app uses anonymous device-level rate limits, duplicate detection, and cooldown timers to block most spam before it reaches the map. Anything that slips through can be reported by users.
Yes. Open any pin and tap the 🚩 flag button. You can report it as spam, wrong information, offensive content, or a duplicate. Reports are reviewed and acted on.
No. Self-likes are blocked at the device level to keep engagement signals honest.
No. Location permission is used only to center the map and to tag where a vibe is posted. Your coordinates are not logged, profiled, or linked to your identity.
Privacy & data
Without an account: only anonymous device identifiers for anti-spam controls — no name, email, or identity. With an account: your email address is stored for login. Your location is never saved. Aggregate operational events may be logged for reliability.
Use the Contact page. We review all moderation and legal requests and respond to data removal requests as quickly as possible.
Hashtags & search
Yes. Type # followed by a word in your vibe text or community message and it becomes a clickable tag. As you type, autocomplete suggestions appear based on trending tags. Tapping any hashtag opens a discovery page showing all vibes and community messages that use it.
Use the Search page. You can search by @username, display name, #hashtag, or city name. Hashtag searches show all related vibes and messages; city searches show recent vibes posted in that area.
The search page shows the top 10 most-used hashtags from recent vibes. Tapping one opens the tag discovery page with all matching content.
Direct messages & games
Yes, if you have an account. Tap the message button on any profile or the ✉️ icon in the header. DMs support text, image attachments, reactions, replies, and edit/delete for your own messages. Unread message counts appear as a badge on the ✉️ icon.
Three games are available: ⚔️ Tic-tac-toe (three modes — Classic, Vanishing, or Three Men's Morris), 🐂 Bulls & Cows (guess a secret 4-digit code), and 🚢 Battleship (sink each other's fleet on an 8×8 grid). Tap 🎮 in the message input bar to start.
Yes — Hangman. Community admins and mods tap 🎮 in the chat, enter a secret word, and all members can guess letters. The on-screen keyboard supports four layouts: EN (English), RU (Russian), SV (Swedish with Å Ä Ö), and DE (German QWERTZ with Ü). Switch layout with the language button above the keyboard. Game state is synced in real time for everyone in the chat.
Classic is the standard 3×3 game. Vanishing gives each player a max of 3 pieces — when you place a 4th, your oldest piece (marked 💨) disappears, so the board never fills and there are no draws. Three Men's Morris has two phases: first both players place their 3 pieces, then take turns sliding one piece to an adjacent cell (including diagonals). First to 3 in a row wins.
Open a DM conversation and tap the 🎮 button next to the message input. Choose a game — for Tic-tac-toe you then pick a mode. For Bulls & Cows you set a secret 4-digit code first; the other player then tries to guess it. For Battleship both players confirm ship placement before the battle begins.
Yes. While a game is active, tap the ? button inside the game panel to open mode-specific rules. Tap it again to close.
Either player can tap ✕ quit in the game panel to abandon the game at any time. The other player will see a message that their partner quit. After a game ends (win, loss, or quit) you can start a new one from the New game button.
Communities
Communities are interest-based groups with a live group chat. Anyone can join or create a community around a topic — a neighbourhood, a hobby, a recurring event, or anything local. Messages support reactions, @mentions, #hashtags, and link previews.
Open the Communities page from the menu (🏘️). Browse by category or search by name on the Discover tab. Tap Join to become a member. Tap Create community to start your own with a name, emoji, description, and category.
The creator and admins can edit community details, delete any message, pin a message, and manage member roles (admin, moderator, member). Moderators can delete and pin messages but cannot edit others' messages.
If you have push notifications enabled, you can toggle community message alerts on or off from the Settings page. The 🏘️ icon in the navigation bar also shows an unread count badge so you always know when there is new activity.
Notifications
After you enable push notifications from the map settings, VibeNow can send you alerts even when the app is not open. Notifications are delivered as standard web push messages and appear in your device's notification centre.
You control exactly what sends you a notification. The four categories are: 💬 Direct messages, 🏘️ Community messages, ❤️ Likes on your vibes, and 🔔 Activity in zones you follow. Each can be toggled independently from Settings.
Open Settings and toggle the push notification switches off. You can disable all notifications at once by revoking the browser permission, or fine-tune each category individually.
Accounts & profiles
Post at least one vibe per day to build a streak. Your current streak is shown on your profile as 🔥. Missing a day resets the counter. Streaks reward consistency and are visible to anyone who visits your profile.
Yes. On any vibe you own, tap 📌 Pin to profile in the popup. That vibe is displayed at the top of your profile page. You can replace it or unpin it at any time from your profile.
Your profile shows your username, points, badges, daily streak, the city of your last vibe, a pinned vibe (if set), a media gallery of your posts, your saved bookmarks, and a list of your recent vibes. Followers and following counts are also displayed.
App & install
PWA (Progressive Web App) means you can install VibeNow directly to your home screen and open it like a native app — full screen, fast load, no browser chrome in the way.
Open the menu and tap Install app for guided steps. On iPhone/iPad: use Share → Add to Home Screen. On Android/desktop: confirm the browser install prompt or tap the install icon in the address bar.
Use the Contact page form. We handle moderation requests, feedback, and legal inquiries there.