Support FAQ

Sign-in and account

I did not receive my SMS verification code. What should I do?

Confirm the country code and phone number, wait briefly, and try again with a reliable cellular or Wi-Fi connection. SMS delivery can be delayed by a carrier. If the problem continues, contact support and include your iPhone model, iOS version, Flexi version, country, and the approximate time of the attempt. Do not send us the verification code.

Can I change my phone number?

Flexi currently ties the account to its verified phone identity. Contact support before changing numbers if you need help preserving access. Do not create duplicate accounts as a workaround unless support advises you to do so.

How do I sign out or delete my account?

Open Settings to sign out. For permanent deletion, open Settings > Delete Flexi Account, review the disclosure, type DELETE, acknowledge that deletion cannot be undone, and confirm.

Deletion removes the account and associated Flexi data described in the Privacy Policy. A minimal account-ID and timestamp deny record remains for up to 48 hours so an already-issued sign-in token cannot recreate deleted data; it is then scheduled for automatic removal. Other people's copies, screenshots, exports, notifications, and external calendar copies cannot be remotely erased.

Contacts and invitations

Why does Flexi request Contacts access?

Contacts access lets Flexi display your address book and match submitted phone numbers to verified Flexi accounts. Matching is limited to the phone numbers you submit; Flexi does not return a global user directory. You can deny or later change Contacts access in iOS Settings.

What contact information leaves my phone?

For matching, submitted contact phone numbers and a country/region code used to normalize them are sent to an authenticated Firebase function. If you choose to create an invitation, the selected contact's name, email address, phone number, and invitation status may also be stored for delivery. See the Privacy Policy for details.

Why can I not find someone?

They may use a different verified number, may not have completed a Flexi profile, may have deleted or disabled their account, or a block relationship may prevent a connection. Confirm that the number saved in Contacts includes the correct country code. Flexi does not support searching the entire user base by name.

Group chats and permissions

How do I create or name a group?

From Messages, choose the new-conversation option, select people from your matched contacts, choose a group name and optional image, and create the group. The creator becomes the first moderator. Membership additions are checked by the trusted Flexi service, including block relationships.

What can moderators manage?

Depending on the current group settings, moderators can manage the group name and image, member roles, membership, who can send messages, who can add people, who can create events, and who can assign nicknames. The app shows a member's account name even when a nickname is set.

How do nicknames work?

A permitted member can set a nickname according to the group's nickname policy. Nicknames are visible to the group and readable by the Flexi service; they are not end-to-end encrypted. Nicknames cannot conceal the underlying account identity. Report a nickname from group details if it violates the Community Guidelines.

What happens when I leave or remove someone?

The departing member loses access to future group messages, events, and shared availability. Existing content and copies can remain. If the final moderator leaves, the service can promote a remaining authenticated member so the group is not left unmanaged.

What does blocking do in a shared group?

Blocking suppresses that account's messages, search results, and notifications in supported Flexi 5.0 views. It does not remove either of you from the group or hide membership, RSVPs, nicknames, or shared-calendar data. The app may download and decrypt ciphertext before hiding it. For stronger separation, leave the group, remove shared calendars, or ask a moderator to change membership.

Group events and calendars

Who can create or edit group events?

The group's event permission controls who can create events. Event creators and permitted moderators can manage event details as allowed by the app. Events can include title, notes, location, link, date/time, all-day status, time zone, reminder, RSVP deadline, whether "Maybe" is allowed, and guest limits supported by the event.

Why is only one event shown at the top of the chat?

Flexi intentionally pins one current or upcoming group event at the top so the conversation is not crowded. Open the group's event area to see the full list, including other upcoming, past, or cancelled events.

How do I RSVP?

Open the event, choose Going, Maybe (when allowed), or Not Going, add any permitted guest count, and save. You can update the response until the RSVP deadline or event policy closes RSVPs. RSVP choice, guest count, account identifiers, and response time are service-readable metadata rather than end-to-end encrypted content.

How do I add an event to my calendar?

Open the event and choose the calendar action. Grant calendar permission if prompted, select the destination Flexi/device calendar, and save. This creates a separate copy. Later edits in the group may require you to update the calendar copy, and removing/cancelling the group event does not guarantee that copies in every external calendar are removed.

What is the difference between availability and full details?

Busy/free sharing uploads exact busy intervals without interval titles. Full-details sharing also uploads titles so group members can understand the schedule. Both choices are stored with the group in Firebase and are not covered by message/event end-to-end encryption. Share only the calendars and date range the group needs, and remove the share when it is no longer useful.

Why does Flexi need Calendar access?

Calendar access lets Flexi import, export, and synchronize events with calendar accounts available on the device, and add group events to a selected calendar. You can change access in iOS Settings, but calendar-related features may stop working. Copies already written to a provider are controlled by that provider.

Messages, encryption, and history

Which content is end-to-end encrypted?

New text messages, exported-calendar attachments, and group-event revisions created by the official Flexi 5.0 client are encrypted on the sender's device for selected participant devices. Protected event content includes title, notes, location, link, occurrence times, time zone, and reminder.

Group names, pictures, members, moderators, permissions, nicknames, shared calendars, RSVPs, delivery information, report metadata, and other operational metadata are not end-to-end encrypted. Older Flexi versions may have created legacy plaintext messages. Read the Privacy Policy for the full boundary.

Can Flexi read my encrypted messages?

The normal service stores ciphertext rather than the protected Flexi 5.0 content. However, the design has important limits: there is no safety-number or key-transparency system, a participant can copy content after decrypting it, and content you explicitly include in a safety report is uploaded in plaintext for review.

Why is old encrypted history missing on a new or reinstalled device?

Encrypted records are addressed to specific device keys. Flexi 5.0 does not provide private-key backup, history transfer, or re-encryption for a new device. A device can decrypt only records addressed to its key. If the only device key capable of opening history is lost, that history may be unrecoverable.

Why does a message say another member needs to update Flexi?

Sending encrypted content is blocked when a current participant has no recently active compatible public key. Ask that member to install/open the latest Flexi version and sign in. This protects the conversation from silently falling back to plaintext.

Notifications

Why do notifications sometimes say "New encrypted message"?

The visible server-provided notification is intentionally generic. The notification extension decrypts a preview only when the device has an active local identity and can verify the encrypted payload. After a restart, unlock the phone once. Also confirm notifications and previews are allowed in iOS Settings.

I am not receiving notifications. What should I check?

Open iOS Settings > Notifications > Flexi, enable notifications, and review Alerts, Sounds, Badges, and preview settings. Open Flexi while signed in so it can refresh its APNs/FCM registration. Check that the conversation is not muted and the sender is not blocked. If it still fails, send support the iPhone model, iOS and Flexi versions, approximate test time, whether the app was foreground/background/locked, and whether in-app messages arrived.

Safety and support

How do I report content?

Touch and hold a message to report it. Open event details to report an event, or group details to report visible group content. Choose the category and decide whether to include the selected decrypted content. Flexi does not automatically include neighboring messages or an entire conversation.

Is reporting an emergency service?

No. If anyone is in immediate danger, contact local emergency services. You may also contact the appropriate local child-protection, crisis, or law-enforcement service when relevant.

Does Flexi show ads or track me across apps?

No. Flexi does not include ads, advertising SDKs, or cross-app tracking. Firebase components process limited device, diagnostic, security, and operational data needed to provide the service, as described in the Privacy Policy.

What should I include in a support request?

Include:

• your iPhone model, iOS version, and Flexi version/build;
• the feature and exact action that failed;
• the approximate date, time, and time zone;
• any error text and whether retrying changed the result; and
• a screenshot with unrelated personal information redacted, if useful.

Do not send SMS verification codes, device passcodes, financial information, private encryption keys, or unrelated message/calendar content. Use a message or event's in-app report flow if safety staff need the selected content and context.