About
How to use KnowQR
A practical guide to finding groups, understanding facets, creating communities, using chat, and managing notifications.
KnowQR is designed to help people find and create groups that genuinely fit them. Some groups may be light and social. Others may be more private, reflective, or focused on growth.
This page explains the main parts of the app and how to use them.
Finding groups
You can search for groups by using the search and filter options. Groups can be found by things such as values, interests, humour, traits, language, location, online format, and other group details.
The aim is to help you find communities that are a better fit, rather than simply showing a long list of unrelated groups.
Understanding facets
Facets are filters that help you narrow your search. For example, instead of only searching for a word, you can refine results by the type of group, location, language, values, interests, traits, humour, or other details that matter to you.
Facets are useful because people are complex. A group may be a good match not because of one single label, but because several things fit together.
Creating and sharing groups
If you create a group, you can describe who the group is for, what it is about, and what kind of people may feel at home there.
Group owners can also share links to their groups on social media or other websites. This allows a group to be advertised publicly while still allowing members to join and participate pseudonymously inside KnowQR.
This can be useful if you want to attract people around a topic, interest, value, activity, event, or private discussion without forcing people to expose their full identity immediately.
Spaces, groups, and sub-groups
A space is a larger area where groups can belong. For example, a space could be connected to a school, workplace, organisation, club, location, or community.
A group is a specific community or discussion area. A sub-group is a smaller group inside a larger group. Sub-groups can be useful when a community grows and people need smaller, more focused places to connect.
Member-only fields
Some group information may be visible only to members. This allows a group owner to keep public information simple, while sharing more detailed or sensitive information only after someone joins the group.
For example, a public page may explain the general purpose of a group, while member-only fields may include meeting details, private links, deeper questions, or internal guidelines.
Chat
KnowQR includes private group chat. Chat is intended to help members communicate, ask questions, share updates, and build trust gradually.
Depending on the group, chat may be used for light conversation, practical coordination, deeper discussion, or support.
Encrypted messages
KnowQR is designed so that chat messages are encrypted. The server relays encrypted delivery packages and is not intended to read the contents of private messages.
Messages are stored on your own devices so that you can read them again from that device. This also means that deleting local chat data from a browser or device may remove your local copy of those messages.
Because encrypted messaging limits what the server can see, group owners and app administrators may not be able to verify message contents unless a user reports a problem and provides evidence.
Deleting local messages
If you want to remove local chat data from a device, you may be able to do this from the app if deletion controls are provided, or from your browser's site data settings.
Be careful: deleting local browser data may remove local copies of encrypted messages from that device. It may also affect device registration for chat or notifications.
Broadcast chats and muting
Some groups may have broadcast-style chat or announcements. Broadcast messages can be useful for important updates from a group owner or organiser.
If a chat becomes too active, you may be able to mute notifications for that chat or group. Muting helps you stay in control of attention without necessarily leaving the group.
Push notifications
Push notifications can help you know when something important happens, such as a new chat message or group update. You can enable or disable notifications from your account settings.
On iPhone, web-app notifications usually require an extra step. You may need to:
- Open KnowQR in your browser.
- Tap the Share button.
- Choose Add to Home Screen.
- Open KnowQR from the Home Screen icon.
- Go to Account.
- Open Chat devices & notifications.
- Tap Enable.
You can later manage notifications from your device settings or from KnowQR, depending on your device and browser.
Pseudonymity and abuse
KnowQR is pseudonymous by default. This means people can begin with a chosen name and decide what to reveal as trust develops.
Pseudonymity is not permission to abuse others. If someone behaves abusively, they may be reported to the application owner. Depending on the behaviour, this may lead to warnings, suspension, removal from groups, or removal from the platform.
The purpose of pseudonymity is to support privacy, safety, and gradual trust — not to protect harmful behaviour.
Getting help or giving feedback
If you are logged in, you can use the Contact / FAQ page to send feedback.
Feedback is especially helpful while KnowQR is still developing. You can report confusing wording, suggest improvements, mention bugs, or offer skills that may help the mission.
If the idea behind KnowQR moves you and you would like to support the initiative financially, please visit the Support page.