GatherUK: Everything You Need to Know

GatherUK is a UK non-profit (converting to become a registered Charity) built for local community groups. Designed from the ground up for British postcodes and UK privacy law — so your community finds people genuinely nearby, not on the other side of the world. Members always join and attend for free. Group Admins pay a simple £5 a month after three months free. No corporate shareholders, no US-centric priorities, and no friendship taxes.

Yes — completely and permanently. Joining groups, browsing events, RSVPing, and using the messaging features costs members nothing. We believe local connection should be accessible to everyone, regardless of budget.

Our search is built around UK postcodes and counties — not a global map that treats Nottingham and New York as equally relevant. Enter your location and you'll see groups that are genuinely local to you.

The Group Admin created the group and is responsible for its direction — they manage settings, approve members, hold the subscription, and oversee how it runs. An Event Host is a trusted member the Group Admin has promoted to help plan and run specific events, without giving them full control of the group. Think of it as sharing the workload while keeping the keys.

Yes. GatherUK is strictly for adults aged 18 and over. This helps us maintain a safe, responsible environment and keeps us compliant with UK online safety standards.

Register free as a member and click "Create a Group." You'll be guided through setting your group name, description, location, and privacy settings in under five minutes. Your first three months are completely free — no card needed to get started.

Your first three months are completely free — no credit card required. After that, it's a flat £5 a month per group. That's it. No "Pro" tiers, no per-event fees, no hidden extras, and no surprise currency conversions. Every penny covers platform costs, not shareholders.

When you're ready to pay, you choose how far in advance you'd like to cover: 3 months (£15), 6 months (£30), or 12 months (£60). Payments are made via Stripe and your subscription always renews on the 15th of the month, so it's easy to keep track.

Yes, and we encourage it. Running a group is easier with help. You can promote any trusted member to Event Host, giving them the tools to plan and manage events without handing over full control of your group.

No — not a single penny. Some groups need to collect a deposit or ticket payment to cover venue hire or equipment. GatherUK integrates with Stripe Connect, and we take 0% commission. Card payments go directly to the group's connected Stripe account — we never hold funds or store card details on GatherUK.

Once you've joined a group, open the event page and choose how many people are attending (you can include guests if the Group Admin allows them). For free events, click "Confirm RSVP". For paid events, complete the checkout through Stripe when the organiser has connected their account.

GatherUK doesn't process or hold event payments — card payments go through Stripe directly to the organiser's account. Refund requests should be directed to the Group Admin or Event Host, in line with their own group's policy. We'd always recommend agreeing terms before paying any deposit.

Absolutely. Your data is protected by industry-standard encryption and will never be sold or used for invasive advertising. We are a registered UK non-profit (ICO Ref: ZC101550) built on the principle that your data belongs to you—not to advertisers.

Yes. Every Group Admin completes a one-time age and identity check before their group goes fully live. We use Didit, a third-party verification service, which asks you to take a quick selfie. AI estimates your age from your face — most people are done in under a minute with no document required. In edge cases where age cannot be determined from a selfie alone, Didit may ask for a government-issued ID to confirm.

This check is required to keep GatherUK an adult-only (18+) platform in line with UK Online Safety Act obligations, and to ensure group leaders are accountable real people. Neither GatherUK nor Didit store your selfie — it is used solely to run the check and is deleted immediately afterwards. GatherUK holds only a pass/fail outcome and a timestamp confirming the check took place.

We also give members the tools to help keep communities safe — the "Request to Join" questionnaire lets Group Admins approve members before they access private details, and Report buttons on every group and event page give everyone a direct line to flag anything that doesn't feel right.

Quick Summary: The Teal Tick verifies who a person is, not how they behave.

The Teal Tick is our Verified Identity badge. It shows that a member is exactly who they say they are. How a member earns their tick depends on their role:

Group Admins: Earn the Teal Tick by completing the Didit age and identity check.

Standard Members: Earn the Teal Tick by being Verified in Person by their Group Admin at an event.

No. The Teal Tick confirms identity, not character.

While we verify that people are real to prevent "ghosting" and anonymous profiles, the tick is not a formal background check (DBS), reference, or endorsement. We always encourage our community to use common sense and follow our safety guidelines when meeting people for the first time.

Absolutely. You're in complete control of your data and your presence on GatherUK. You can permanently remove your membership at any time from your profile settings — no hoops to jump through.

Yes. GatherUK is built as a Progressive Web App (PWA), which means it works beautifully on any phone, tablet, or desktop — no app store download required. It's fast, lightweight, and you can add it to your home screen to use it just like a native app.

GatherUK uses PWA technology — no App Store or Google Play needed, which helps us keep Group Admin costs at just £5 a month.

On mobile: Scroll to the bottom of any page and tap the "Install App" button. The GatherUK icon will appear on your home screen straight away.

On desktop (Chrome or Edge): Look for the small install icon in your browser's address bar — it looks like a monitor with a download arrow. Click it to add GatherUK to your taskbar or desktop.

We've built GatherUK to be clean, clear, and easy to navigate for everyone. We follow web accessibility best practices and are always working to improve. If you encounter an issue, please get in touch — we take all accessibility feedback seriously.

Yes — but not by uploading a Meetup export or syncing their database (that would raise serious privacy concerns, and Meetup does not hand over a full member list anyway). You invite people across with your GatherUK join link, Meetup announcements, and personal invites where you already have email addresses. Our step-by-step migration guide walks you through that. Most Group Admins find members are glad to move to a cleaner, UK-focused home.

Yes — for upcoming gatherings only. We can help you import event titles, dates, and descriptions as drafts so you can review them before publishing. Meetup photos, member lists, and past history are not imported.

Meetup import is set up per group by our team. If you are moving from Meetup, please contact support and we will enable the import tools for your group and walk you through the next steps.

GatherUK is a UK non-profit — free for members, fair for organisers, protected by a formal Asset Lock. Read the founder's story for the full background.

A small UK team — not a faceless corporation. Steve still reads contact messages personally, and everyone here has run or supported real local groups. When you get in touch, you are talking to people who understand what volunteer organising actually feels like.

Yes. GatherUK is a UK non-profit currently converting to become a registered Charity, with a formal Asset Lock — a legal protection that means it can never be sold to investors or converted into a profit-driven business. The £5 a month Group Admins contribute goes directly towards hosting, security, and platform improvements. No shareholder dividends, no executive bonuses.

Perfect — GatherUK was made for exactly that. Your first three months are free, with no pressure to commit. If your group meets infrequently and even £5 a month feels like a stretch, just drop Steve a message directly. We'd far rather find a way to keep your community alive than lose it.

Start with our Help for Group Admins or Help for Event Hosts guides — they cover most day-to-day questions. If you're still stuck, contact us directly. You won't get a bot or a ticketing queue. Steve personally reads every message, and if you're moving a group across from another platform, he's happy to help you through it step by step.