A few months ago we shared a small preview of what the team at Geneva has been thinking about and working on. We talked about how we’ve seen more and more groups use Geneva as a chat app to facilitate online 🔁 offline connections. Since then, hundreds of these IRL-centric groups on Geneva have grown into lively, dynamic spaces where people in the same cities are connecting over shared interests and making plans to meet up out of the group chat.

There are now all sorts of local communities on Geneva —groups like this one focused on connecting women in Charlotte, this dinner party club in Boston, and this group of women in NYC meeting up to go to the movies… And while we’re seeing an incredibly diverse range of interests – hiking, thrifting, cooking, knitting, learning a new language, and more – there’s one common thread that runs through every group: to meet up with people in real life and do things together.

Our mission has always been about connection. So as we enter into the second half of the year, we are more energized than ever to continue building Geneva into the group chat app that connects you to the people you want to meet and the things you want to do near you.

Consider this our official hello as Geneva 2.0: the online place to find your offline people. 🌼

This means some changes, big and small, all focused on making it easier for you to find groups (or grow your own!) and make plans. So, what’s new?

Step one... add your location!

The focus of our evolved mission is to connect you to groups and events near you . To do that, we need to know where you are! Adding your location📍 helps us create a more personalized experience for you on Geneva, and is at the core of most of our new features and updates.

New navigation bar

Geneva’s still a group chat app, but we’ve done a bit of re-organizing. With the new tab bar, it’s now easier to navigate between your groups and DM conversations, to find new communities popping up near you in Discovery, and to see when and where people are getting together for events and hangouts.

New public & private group settings

We’re updating what it means to have a public and private group on Geneva. All groups will be discoverable, with Public groups allowing members to join immediately, while Private groups will require admin approval. This change is one of our biggest, and will make it easier for you to find the groups you’re looking for and for people to find the groups you’ve started.

We’ll be sharing more on Geneva’s new public/private settings soon, but in the meantime you can ask us any questions about what this may mean for you or your group at hi@geneva.com 💌

New event features

You’ll now see meetup suggestions right in the chat when someone proposes a time to hang out - making it easier to do fun things with the people in your groups. Anyone can make a meetup in Geneva and it will show up as an event in the calendar. You can use meetups to plan causal hangs, gauge interest from other people in your group, and throw together a plan without any pressure.

Age & international accessibility

17+

Beginning in September, Geneva will be restricted to users ages 17 and up. As we continue to release features that facilitate and encourage groups on Geneva to meet up with new people in person, it is essential that we create guardrails that ensure these online to offline connections are as safe as possible. Starting mid-September, we will be collecting age within the app, and any users who are under 17 will no longer be able to access Geneva. There will be ample in-app messaging weeks before this change goes live to prepare any affected users in advance, and more in-depth details on this change will be shared in the coming weeks.

International

As of May, Geneva is now only available in North & Central America and Europe.

This decision was difficult, but essential for our ability to thoughtfully manage our growth with a very small team. It is important to us that wherever we’re showing up, we are giving our users the best experience possible. While we intend on re-opening the app across the world in the future, today Geneva’s availability will be limited to the countries that we can provide the best experience in.

Fresh Air 2.0

You’ve probably noticed that our brand has evolved a bit. We wanted a design system that reflected where we’re headed, yet felt true to who we’ve always been. We worked with our friends at XXIX to bring you Fresh Air 2.0. Fresh Air 2.0 still has the same DNA as Fresh Air (our original design system) - but with all the dials turned up. You’ll see photos of real people, more saturated and brighter colors, bigger and more playful type, and white space intentionally employed to really bring that idea of fresh air to life. It’s the Geneva you know and love, just a little… fresher :)

So what's next?

We had a blast meeting you all in person at Geneva events in NYC and Dallas, and we’re rolling out a lot of fun things in cities across the US (maybe yours!) soon… so keep an eye out 🙃 We can’t wait for you to find groups for whatever you’re into, wherever you are.

Want to create a group to plan events and meet people near you but not sure how to get started? Check out our guide to creating a group in your city, or shoot our Community team a note at hi@geneva.com. We’d love to hear from you! 🌎 🫂

xx

Team Geneva