FAQs

When you first open Factum you will see a Story Mix playing in the app home, it's made up of all the group stories from all the groups you’re a member of. As new group stories are added through each day you will see them playing in full screen behind the Group sheet, use this sheet to create or navigate to groups. Dismiss the group list by swiping down and sit back and celebrate the achievements of all the groups you’re a member of! While in the app Home you can also access the settings (top right) and calendar view of all the events you have taken part of - perfect to find the photos from a past event easily.

A group consists of members, group chat, group stories and events. We’re all about achieving things together and nothing says that more than groups. At the heart of Factum is groups and the groups you’re a member of. Think of a group the same as that WhatsApp group you organize the Saturday morning run or ride with but so much more!

Congratulations! You have watched all the group stories from all your groups, as new group stories are created you will see them turn up here. Swipe the group list up from the bottom of the screen whilst watching the Story Mix so you can head over to one of your groups or create a new one.

Swipe the group list up from the bottom of the screen whilst watching the Story Mix. From here you can create a new group, invite friends or navigate to existing groups you are a member of. If you are watching a group story you can also tap the group profile picture in the upper left corer to jump to that group

Tap on a group and you are brought to the Group Home, this is the hub of your community and where you can see whats been going on at a glance. Upper right menu: Manage your group and invite others to join via links or QR code Chat Updates: The green box provides the latest instant message in chat, tap to bring up the full chat interface for the group. Hang out with your group! Group Stories: Tap here and upload some photos/videos of you latest group activity together, after a few days you can see a carousel of all previous Group Stories Upcoming Events: Lastly the lower of Group Home is where you can add an event for the group, see whats coming and tap in for details or swipe up to see the history events

To help groups organise Factum allows you to create events, vote on them, track attendance, view weather forecasts plus receive updates and notifications.

Instant messaging similar to WhatsApp is part of every Factum group. As we evolve the Factum App we will also do the same for instant messaging. You can access messages from each group you are a member of from each group home page at the top. You will notice the last message sent to the group as the preview. Currently we don't support the uploading of video into instant messaging (photos are fine). We do support links to videos on YouTube and other services though which will render a preview thumbnail. If the video is that good add it to a Group Story!

When organizing an event you can set the the following options: Name of the event Date of the event A message about the event that everyone will see Up to two routes that everyone can vote on if they wish Currently we support simple routes you can create or import from Strava activities if you have enabled Strava integration in settings

Yes! Anyone who is a member of a group can organize an event of which everyone in the group can respond to.

Currently you can change: Start time for each route Start and Finish location You can tap on the Start / Finish buttons and either drop a pin or search for a specific location to update. You can also edit the address with a custom description if you like. By default if you selected a Strava activity we automatically work out the start and finish points of the activity and put the address in to match them. Note if you decide to update the Start or Finish location of the imported activity but the route line on the map will not change. Try to use an imported activity which closely matches your planned route in Factum.

The group will be notified and they can respond as to whether they are In, Maybe or Out of the event along with vote on a route if two were offered.

From the bottom event details page tap on “Check who’s coming” and yourself or anyone in the group can see who’s in, maybe out or hasn’t responded and which route they voted for.

No, events will close automatically at the start of the event so you can set them up and leave them in most cases. Once and event is closed not one else in the group will be able to change their status of In/Maybe/Out, your event becomes 'locked'. If you set up two routes but the vote is tied you may wish as the group organiser select which route to use and then close the event so the group is clear on which event 'won' and they are doing.

Not at this time.

Yes, if you wish to incur the wrath of your group feel free to tap on the 3 dots in the top right of the event details page and tap “Close Event”. When closing an event if you have two routes scheduled then you will be prompted to choose which route should be used and then close the event. After this group members will not longer be able to change their In / Out / Maybe status and the event becomes 'locked'

When you tap the + on group home to schedule a new event tap on “Repeat past event”. Select a previous event from the list you wish to repeat. You will be required to set the new date and optionally change the name of the event and or message. Note, the repeat past event feature is designed to allow quick re-use of existing events, if you need to modify these details schedule a new event.

One of the great things about Factum is keeping a history of the groups events and memories with Group Stories. Group Stories run for a day at which time they close and are linked to the days activity (see FAQ for more on Group Stories) You can use the calendar view in the Global Group Home to see all the events from all of your groups you are a member of. Want to find specific groups events and linked group stories? Head to a group home and swipe up the event section on the lower third of screen, this revels a history of the groups events plus a calendar and list view to help you find the event you are after.

Currently we have based the assumption that each group will run one event for the day and each Group Story is linked to this event. You can schedule more than one event in a day but it will link back to the same Group Story by design. Group Stories are really a snap shot of what everyone in a group did in 24h no matter where they are. It leads to some fun results as the day plays out and more content is added. For auto created content such as who came we will label these in the group story so you can see which event what came from. Example, 'morning ride' and 'afternoon hike'. As a group owner you can always work with your group to decide what content everyone should contribute or moderate it out.

If you’ve enabled notifications for the Factum App you will be notified when a new event is organised for any group you’re a member of. You are able to respond in 2 ways: Long press on the notification and respond with: In Maybe Out Tap on the notification and you will be taken to the event details page where you can: View the proposed route(s). Vote on a route if 2 are proposed. Respond with In, Maybe or Out for the event.

By default all users who are invited are set to “Not responded” which you can view in the “Check who’s coming” sheet at the bottom of the event details. If you do not respond to an event by the time the event is schedule to start then your status will automatically be changed to “No”.

Work up and got a rain alert? Just to hard to get out of bed? We get it! You can change your response anytime until the event starts from the Event Details page. You group will appreciate knowing the latest on if you can make it. Once the event has closed (after the start time or by the event organizer) its not possible to change you status.

If an event is scheduled with two route options vote options appear on the event details page. Tap on the Vote button bellow the route you wish to choose. Its also a good time to tap the In, Maybe, Out button. If you have had a change of heart, maybe the easier route looks better that was posted? You can change your vote anytime up until the event starts or the event organizer closes voting for the event.

Tap on the event image in the lower section of group home, from there the details are brought up. You are able to see the event route(s) with a full screen map with the route line, start, finish and optional (but we think important) coffee stop pins. Vote count if 2 routes are available for the event. Weather 5 days out from the event including Temperature, Wind Speed & Direction, Precipitation, Air Quality Index (US Index). Weather Precipitation Radar 2 hours our from the event starting Link to Check who's coming sheet with In, Maybe, Out or Not responded to an event invite. A reminder, the weather you see in upcoming event is not of whats happening now, but a forecast of the weather at the time and location of the scheduled event. Of course that becomes more accurate as you get closer to the event and Factum will send a weather notification and hour or so before the event so you have the latest information.

An hour or so prior to the event you will receive a notification with the weather details of the event. If you tap on the notification you will see a full weather forecast and a map with a rain radar. Tapping on the rain radar map will show a full screen rain radar. Once an event has started changing your response or route vote is not long available.

We want to make it easy to keep track of all of your group achievements and we have a few ways to go back and see upcoming and historical events. Historical events are also automatically linked to the Group Story from that day. From the Group Home swipe up the event sheet on the lower of group home and you will see all upcoming and historical events. Swipe up to see previous events and swipe down to see all upcoming events. Tap on the list icon to the left of the calendar icon in the top right of the event sheets. This list gives a quick list of all upcoming and historical events and allows you to set your response quickly vs having to navigate into each one. If have events from a month or a year back swiping a timeline bay not be the best, for that we have a calendar and list view: Tap on the calendar icon in the top right of the event sheet and a native calendar sheet will show up. Day’s where events will or have occurred are circled as follows: Circle outline: Event schedule but not responded. Circle outline with line diagonally across it: Event schedule but responded No Circle filled in: Responded Yes to event.

No problem, to get a global view: From the Factum Home Screen tap on the calendar icon in the top left of the Factum Bar. This will present you with a list of all events in card form that you have been invited to both upcoming or historical from all groups as well as the linked Group Stories for prior events. Now you are in the list view, taping on the calendar icon in the top right will allow you to quickly navigate months back or forward to specific dates if you wish to view upcoming or historical events and their associated group stories if created. We have circled the days where there was an event. Taping on the list icon will display a simple list view of all events and how you voted. Of course only future events that are not closed will allow you to change your In, Maybe, Out status

A Simple Factum Route has no route but allows you set some basic details of the event they include: Route Name Activity Type Estimated Distance and or Estimated Duration This type of route is perfect for an event that doesn’t have a predefined route to follow but you need a place to meet, finish and grab an optional coffee such as a Mountain Bike Park, Ski Resort or sporting match such as football. If you want a route to follow or to use with a map device import a Strava Activity which we can then create the route from. For a Simple 'Factum' Route you must manually set your start and finish locations. To do so tap the location on your map and we will automatically insert the address. If you want to put a custom description in at this point feel free to do so. You can set the start and finish location the same without having to manually set both, toggle the option to set the finish and start to the same location.

If you want a route to follow or to use with a map device we currently support linking to Strava and using your prior activities or routes which we can then create the route from. This helps your group see where you have set up an event or link back to use a map with compatible devices. Support for other services is on the roadmap.

By integrating your Strava account with Factum you are able to use your Strava Activities or Strava Routes to provide a map users in your group can attend and vote on. This can be done from settings.

When on the Routes screen while setting up an event there is a filter that will allow you to select Strava Routes to make them easier to find.

Yes! You can add the Strava activity to your device by taping on the Strava Icon in the top right corner of the route map. It will take you to Strava and you can manage it from there.

You may not have logged into Strava with your user name and password. Do so and try again. The Strava activities privacy is not set to public or followers by the event organizer. Send the organizer a message to change the privacy setting on their Strava Activity

The Strava activities privacy is not set to public or followers by the event organizer. Send the organizer a message to change the privacy setting on their Strava Activity

1. Set the start time for each route. 2. Start & Finish location: By default if you selected a Strava activity we automatically work out the start and finish points of the activity and put the address in to match them. If you want to change the start or finish points, just tap on the Start and or Finish button and either drop a pin or search for a specific location. Today we only support changing the details but not the route line from Strava Activities. To set a custom description for a start or finish location, just tap on the dropped pin and it will prompt you to enter a description. For a Simple Factum Route you must manually set your start and finish locations. To do so tap the location on your map and we will automatically insert the address. If you want to put a custom description in at this point feel free to do so. You can set the start and finish location the same without having to manually set both by selecting the “Start and Finish are the same” toggle.

This is an option pin you can drop or search for to add to your route. This is more important than the finish isn’t it?

Sure can! Once you’ve added your first route tap on the “+ add Route” button and choose a Strava Acitivty or Simple Factum Route as per your first route. This also revels the options for the group to vote on which route they would like to complete. Be creative here, for example routes could be different courses, or maybe to decide what time to start, maybe to you would like the group to decide a fast or slow option? Once you are finished the group will be notified there is a new event scheduled so they can look and vote.

Tap on the pencil on the route image and you will be able to either delete or change the details of the route.

Group Stories are a visual way to remember those great moments in a unique shared way, they are created over a 24h window by uploading photos and videos. Its a group project, each group member can contribute to. Images are ordered by timestamp when they were taken, it's a timeline in a story! A group story can be manually created by taping the + next on the left side of a previous group story card in group home or is automatically created when a scheduled group event is started. Automated Group Stories include unique visual elements will be generated and can be deleted as desired (such as who turned up for the event) All members of the group can contribute to the group story with photos or videos. A maximum of 90 seconds of video and photos is available per group story.

We support photos and videos and suggest portrait at 9:16 aspect ratio to make best use of your phones screen Photos when the story has not yet reached 90 seconds will be shown for approximately 5 seconds. As the total reaches 90 seconds we automatically start reducing the display time until a minimum display time of 2 seconds per photo is met. If you want to do the math it would mean you could have a maximum of 45 photos in a photo only group story each day! Videos in group stories can be a maximum of 15 seconds each with a total of 60 seconds of video. Does this mean I could have 6, 10 second videos? Yes! Slice and dice your videos to any length greater than 1 second up to the total of 60 seconds if that amount of time is left in the group story today. We support trimming of all videos you upload to the group story so you can celebrate the best moments of your videos.

We believe that constraint drives creativity and makes you and your group only celebrate the absolutely best of your event.

You can delete any media you upload to a group story whilst it’s still open for the day. Once the group story closes at the end of the day you are no longer able to remove media from the group story but you can revel in it’s greatness at a later date if you want!

Group Admins or Group owners can also delete any media from a group story as a way to remove any content that doesn’t meet the group’s style or if someone accidentally uploaded 12 photos of their feet and forgot about it! We are currently building the feature that will notify the group of which admin or group owner deleted what photo or video. The great thing about group events and chat is that most people know each other. If you feel your content was deleted in error simply message the admin or owner of the group and ask why. If the group story is still open you can always re-add the photo or video to the group story.

At Factum we love the idea of a story arc and as such we look at the time your photo or video was taken on your phone and then place everyone’s photos and videos in the group story in chronological order to build out the events story. To do this we pick up the time and date of the content so we can place is in order it was created. You can still add other images or photos and videos not taken on the day of the group story however they will be randomly placed within the group story.

The first person to contribute to the group story get’s to choose one of the six optional songs. We’re in MVP so forgive the limited options, we’re planning to offer some more interesting options to customize these over time.

Better get in first to contribute to the group story next time so you can choose the music!

We wanted to include some fun Factum generated images that reflect interesting details about your event. We are shipping initially with 3 photos: Profile Bubbles: These are made up of all the people that attended the group event. It uses your Factum profile photos. Weather: This is the forecast weather for the event and changes in look and feel based on what the weather was. Everyone loves playing in the rain right? Route: This is the route overview that was proposed in the group event with some basic metrics of the event such as distance and elevation if available. After an event passes the scheduled start time we generate these photos and create a Group Story for the day or add them if you have already started one by uploading content. If you want to remove these photos just tap the Trash Can / Bin on the image whilst watching the group story. You need to be the event organiser or group admin to do this.

No system generated frames do not consume any of the 90 seconds available to a group story.

No these do not count against the 90 seconds available in a group story for user generated photos or videos.

There are several reasons you are no longer able to add photos or video to a group story. They include: The story has closed for the day: Group stories automatically close at 23:59 on the day and local time zone the story was created in. The story has filled its 90 seconds capacity: See the details about how video and photos are treated in a group story.

Tap on the thumbnail from the group home and it will start playing. If you are watching it from the Global Group Home tab on the Group name to jump to the group it came from. To control and navigate through a Group Story is simple, we’re not going to try and reinvent the wheel here. If you use Instagram, Snapchat or TikTok, then this will come naturally. If not here’s how it works: To move to the next photo or video tap the right side of the screen. To move to the previous photo or video tap the left side of the screen. To move to the next story swipe left. To move to the previous story swipe right. To stop watching a group story use top left arrow to return to the group home. To pause playback long press the screen To mute use the icon on the Group Story

Factum automatically plays then next group story in your group if there is one available.

At this point in time you can re-share the group story back into the group it was created in. Tap the share icon in the top right corner. You will see a new message posted in the group chat.

At this point we haven’t built the ability to export a group story outside of the Factum App. We 100% will support the sharing of Group Stories so you can use them on your other social platforms like Instagram or TikTock. Keep an eye out on updates for more.

You can access the settings for the Factum Application by taping on the Cog from the Home Screen in the Factum Bar.

Tap on the “Units” button from the settings page and choose Imperial or Metric. * The United Kingdom measures distance in miles but temperature in Celsius. We plan to support mixed units in the future but we’re just not there yet.

All users are automatically members of the Factum Feedback group. This allows you to provide product feedback to the Factum team about what’s good, what’s bad and what’s missing. If you wish to mute notifications from the Factum Feedback group tap on the Loud Speaker which is located on the top right of the screen.

There is a long for detailed legal description here and here that discusses the terms of our service and your responsibility as a Factum user. However our philosophy is simple and we will publicise any intended changes. Factum is a community of like minded folks who want to get together with friends, teams, events and enjoy all kinds of activities and sports. It's a free app which its founders want to create a space where we can all enjoy the banter and love of what we do. If you want to post illegal, age restricted, hateful, abusive or general behaviour that basically sucks, well my friend you are in the wrong place. I am sure there is another social platform for you but it ain't ours. This FAQ has more how we strive to encourage the right behaviours and protect users.

Quite simply two things: 1/ Basic data to use app: Phone number and email to log in User name - we encourage you to use a real name where possible as there is nothing to hide here and it makes you recognisable to your group members plus its a great level of transparency Location services for map usage and weather. As we make new features we will update you if this requires other data to work If you connect other apps to ours like Strava, you should read their terms as we don't control their service. Given you need to have an account before connecting we assume you have already done this and are cool with their terms. If not, you should. (actually do this will all apps really) 2/ What we don't do - the group is a private walled garden We don't take your data such as name, phone number, email and market it, sell it, share it or do other creepy things We don't scan your group chat or photos for the purpose of marketing, selling, tracking or other creepy things We don't push data to other groups you may join. Say the local sports club has a group you join, we don't feed them data from your other private groups, they only see what you post or collaborate with in the group. If you suspect they are doing creepy things, leave the group and email us. You as a group member are reviling your name to each other and sharing chat and images, routes so be responsible. If you have objection to a group we suggest you leave it. We will be transparent: As we develop features we will let everyone input into these changes and be transparent. For example, Group Story sharing is on the roadmap as you would have seen in this FAQ, this would potentially allow you to post videos/photos elsewhere. If and when we do this we will let the community know and make sure there is time for feedback. You can email info@factumlabs.com if you have any concerns

We have a number of approaches to help keep Factum safe and fun: 1/ Common sense: Yep, its alive and well. If you are a group admin in particular keep the group in check, don't tolerate trolling, pin some guidelines for the group and strive to set the tone you expect. We are all here to get ready for the next adventure and escape the day to day with amazing activities. 2/ In chat you can flag inappropriate messages, we hope admins and group members deal with this first 3/ In chat click on the profile picture of a user, select the menu dots in the top right corner and block a user. You will no longer see any new messages from that user however old messages will remain and the rest of the group can interact with the user. 4/ Images can be flagged (flag icon) if someone uploads inappropriate material that breaks our user agreement and terms 5/ Messages in transit (on internet) are encrypted 6/ Chat messages can be automatically scanned to look for major breaches in our terms of service. We don't manually read it but Factum does not intend to be a honeypot for illegal operations to set up. 7/ Factum uses a service to check images and video for illegal or restricted content (we are a 4+ rated app in many regions). Images are unencrypted for this reason. We don't manually do this and have no interest in spying on users. 8/ Factum take measures to restrict access such as 2 factor authentication, network protection and other security measures in its operations. These are a summary of some of the process in place, please email info@factumlabs.com if you have any questions or concerns.