Answers to the things people ask first.

For browsing the map and reading public layers — no. You can open the map and explore what people have posted anywhere in the world without signing up.

For posting, messaging, having a feed of your own, or seeing anything beyond strictly public layers — yes, you'll need a free account. Sign up here; it takes about thirty seconds.

A layer is what we call a post. Unlike posts on most social apps, each layer is tied to a specific GPS location — wherever you were standing when you created it. So a photo from a café belongs to that café, a video from a hike belongs to that trailhead.

That's what makes the map browsable: you're not looking at random posts, you're looking at posts that happened there.

Posting requires the mobile app, because each layer needs your real GPS location and the browser can't reliably give us that. Download the app, then:

1. Open the app and sign in.
2. Tap the + button at the bottom of the screen.
3. Choose your media (photo, video) or just write text.
4. Pick a privacy level — public, followers, friends, or only you.
5. Tap Post.

The layer stays pinned at the spot you were standing. You can change its privacy, edit the text, or delete it later — all from the same app.

Following is one-way. You can follow a public account to see their public layers in your feed; they don't have to follow you back, and they don't have to approve it.

Friends is mutual. Both people have to accept the friendship. Friends can see each other's "friends-only" layers and unlock private messaging.

You can be both — a friend AND following someone — and most close connections are.

Four feed tabs, no algorithm deciding what you see in any of them:

• Trending — layers your wider network has been engaging with recently.
• Nearby — what people posted close to where you are.
• Friends — chronological posts from your mutuals only.
• Following — chronological posts from accounts you follow.

Each tab shows posts in the order they were posted, with public layers always visible to anyone who passes by them on the map.

Every layer you post picks one of these. You can change it later.

• Public — anyone who finds the spot on the map can see it. Anyone, including people without accounts.
• Followers only — people who follow you, even if you don't follow them back. They'll see it in their feed.
• Friends only — only mutual connections you've accepted. The most common setting for personal posts.
• Only me — nobody else, ever. Use this for private notes pinned to places — a journal you happen to keep on a map.

Yes, any time. Open the layer, tap the menu, choose Edit privacy. Switching from public to friends-only retroactively hides it from everyone who isn't a friend, including anyone who saw it before the change.

Yes. In Settings → Privacy, turn on Private profile. Once enabled:

• Your profile is hidden from search and discovery.
• Your follower list, friends list, and public layers are only visible to confirmed friends.
• Strangers exploring the map still see your public layers (because they're tagged "public"), but they can't click through to your profile.

If you want to be invisible to strangers, switch your default posting privacy to "friends only" alongside private profile.

By design. LifeLayers tells search engines not to index any of its pages — your name, your posts, your profile, the whole site is invisible to Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and everything else that respects robots.txt.

This is intentional and not configurable. What you share on LifeLayers stays on LifeLayers.

The location attached to a layer is visible to whoever can see the layer itself — so a "friends only" layer's location is only visible to friends, not the world.

We don't broadcast your real-time location to anyone. Your phone's GPS is only used at the moment you create a layer, to anchor that one post. We don't follow you around or track movement patterns.

The full privacy policy is at /privacy, covering exactly what we collect, what we don't, how long we keep it, and your rights. The short version is also on the about page under "What we promise."

In the web or app, go to Settings → Account. Email changes send a confirmation link to the new address — the change doesn't take effect until you click that link.

Password changes happen immediately and sign out your other sessions, so you'll need to log back in on any other devices.

On the login page, click Forgot password. We'll email you a one-time reset link valid for one hour. If you don't see it, check spam — and make sure you're checking the address you used to sign up.

If you've lost access to that email too, message support with as many account details as you can — username, approximate date of signup, layers you've posted — and we'll help you regain access after verifying.

We're building a self-service export tool. Until it's available, email [email protected] from the address on your account and ask for a copy of your data. We'll prepare a ZIP containing your profile information, your layers (with media files), messages you sent, and your friends and followers lists, and reply with a download link — usually within a few days, and always within 30.

Mention any specific subset you need (just your layers, just your messages, etc.) and we'll scope the export accordingly.

In Settings → Account → Delete account. We ask you to confirm with your password, then the moment you tap delete:

• Your profile is removed from the live service.
• Your layers, comments, chat messages, and friend and follower connections are deleted.
• Your uploaded photos and videos are removed from our storage.
• The session cookie is cleared and you're signed out.

Deletion is immediate and permanent. There's no grace period, no recovery window, and our support team cannot bring a deleted account back. That's by design — many people delete an account specifically because they want their data gone, and we honour that.

If you change your mind later, you're welcome to sign up again with the same email; you'll just be starting fresh.

Suspensions happen for confirmed violations of our terms — most commonly spam, abusive behavior toward other users, or content involving minors. We don't suspend accounts automatically; a human reviews every report before action.

If you think the suspension was a mistake, email [email protected] from the address on the account. Include any context you think helps. We'll re-review and respond.

It's the whole point. Every layer on LifeLayers is anchored to where it was created — that's what makes the map browsable, and what makes posts feel different from posts on other apps.

If we let people drop layers anywhere from a browser, the map would fill up with fake locations within a week. The GPS check keeps things honest.

Three kinds of content, in any combination:

• Photos — JPG, PNG, WEBP, GIF, HEIC. Up to 5 MB each.
• Videos — MP4, MOV, WebM. Up to 100 MB each. We re-encode for streaming after upload.
• Text — up to a few thousand characters per layer.

You can post just text if you want, or just a photo with no caption. Whatever suits the moment.

Yes — text, privacy level, and the layer's title can all be edited at any time. The location can't be changed (because that would defeat the point of anchoring it where you stood). To "move" a layer, delete the old one and post a new one at the new location.

Edited layers don't get a public "edited" label, but the timestamp on the layer reflects the original post time, not the edit time.

Open the layer, tap the menu (the three dots), choose Delete. We don't make you confirm twice — one tap is enough.

Deletion is immediate from public view. The actual file is purged from our storage within a few hours. Once deleted, a layer can't be undeleted, so be sure.

Most common causes:

• File is too big — videos must be 100 MB or under. Trim the video or lower the resolution and try again.
• Format isn't supported — stick to MP4, MOV, or WebM. Some phones produce more exotic formats by default.
• Connection dropped — uploads need stable signal. On flaky cell data, try over Wi-Fi.
• App needs restarting — if uploads have been failing repeatedly, close the app fully and reopen it.

Still stuck? Email support with the video size, format, and what device you're on, and we'll help debug.

Android 8.0 (Oreo) or later. iOS 15.0 or later. Older devices will run into install errors before they get a chance to break anything else.

If you're on an older OS and can't update, the website still gives you full read access — you just can't post.

It's built. We're submitting to Apple's App Store once the Android version completes its Google Play review — Apple's process tends to go more smoothly when there's a live Android app to reference.

For the current state and direct download links, see the download page.

Walk through these in order:

1. Check your phone's Location Services are on globally (Settings → Privacy → Location on iOS, Settings → Location on Android).
2. Make sure LifeLayers has location permission. On iOS, choose While Using. On Android, allow it for the app specifically.
3. If you're indoors with bad signal, step outside for a moment. GPS needs sky.
4. Force-close the app and reopen it.

If none of that helps, email support with your device model and OS version.

Check three things:

• Notification permission for LifeLayers — your phone's settings, not ours. iOS sometimes silently disables this if you long-pressed a notification and tapped "deliver quietly."
• In-app preferences — Settings → Notifications inside the app. You can toggle individual categories (messages, friend requests, mentions).
• Battery savers / focus modes — some Android battery-saver profiles silently block notifications from "unused" apps.

Open their profile, tap the menu (the three dots), choose Block. Once blocked:

• They can't see your profile or layers.
• You won't see theirs.
• Existing follows and friendships are broken.
• They can't message you, and any pending messages from them disappear.

Blocks are silent — the blocked person isn't notified. You can unblock from Settings → Privacy → Blocked accounts.

From any layer or profile, the menu (three dots) includes Report. Pick a category (spam, harassment, hate speech, content involving minors, other) and add a short note if it helps explain. We review every report before acting — usually within 24 hours, faster for safety-critical categories.

Reports are confidential. The reported person isn't told who reported them.

Do these in order:

1. Block them — instantly cuts the connection.
2. Report the harassing layer or message — gives our team the evidence to act on the account, not just the interaction.
3. If it's escalating or involves threats, email [email protected] directly. We treat these as same-day priorities.

If the threats are credible and immediate, please also contact your local authorities. We'll cooperate with valid legal requests.

We treat reports of child-safety violations with the highest urgency. The content is removed and the account suspended pending review, typically within hours. We cooperate fully with NCMEC and equivalent international agencies on confirmed cases.

Read more on our child safety page about how we approach this category.