Gist IRL
Strangers to Friends
Only for iPhone
Free · Designed for iPhone. Not verified for macOS.
Making friends as an adult is hard. Gist makes it easier.
Gist runs structured in-person events designed to do one thing: get you into real conversations with people you'd actually want to know. No swiping, no awkward mixers, no hoping the right person walks up. You show up, and we take it from there.
Here's how an event works. Every Gist event is built around a shared interest or theme, so everyone in the room already has something in common. You'll move through a series of guided 1:1 conversations, each one a chance to actually connect instead of small-talk your way through the night. After the rounds, the room opens up. You decide who you want to keep talking to over food, drinks, or a group activity.
WHAT MAKES GIST DIFFERENT
Conversations with depth, by design. Guided 1:1 rounds mean you always know who's next. The structure does the heavy lifting so the conversation can be real.
Curated around what you care about. Every event has a theme, from book lovers to founders to outdoor adventurers. You walk in knowing the people around you are already your kind of people.
A Connection Hub that remembers. The people you clicked with don't disappear after the event. Save connections, message who you met, and turn a good night into something ongoing.
10,000+ members, all word of mouth. Gist has grown 9x in the past year with zero paid advertising. People come, they like it, they bring friends.
Friendship takes more than one introduction. That's the idea behind Gist. We're not a one-off mixer or a dating app in disguise. We're building the kind of place where you keep running into the same people, in the best way, until one day you realize you have a community.
Come to one event. See what happens.
more I’ve really enjoyed using this app. It makes meeting new people feel fun and low-pressure. The design is clean, intuitive, and easy to navigate.
I’ve really enjoyed using this app. It makes meeting new people feel fun and low-pressure. The design is clean, intuitive, and easy to navigate.
Version 2.0.0 is a redesign of the whole app so it matches the new Gist web app at gistirl.com. The features are the same as in the previous version. This update adds no new permissions, data collection, entitlements or kinds of purchase.
WHAT CHANGED
Navigation: The app now has five tabs: Home, Explore, Ask, People and You. Ask is the raised button in the middle, and it opens Gist AI, our in-app assistant. Tickets are now on Home under "Your plans."
Home: Shows your week. You see your next event, your plans, people from your last event, any connection request waiting for you, and one suggested event nearby.
Explore: Replaces the old Discover screen. It lists every upcoming event and has a city picker, search, a Friends / Professionals filter and a map.
Event page: New layout with a full-width photo, who's going, the event format, the host, and the join button and checkout. A few suggested questions open Gist AI and ask about that event.
Gist AI: New look for the chat and its history. Members without access to Gist AI see a screen that explains it instead of the chat. Signed-out users must sign in before they can host an event from Gist AI.
People: Connection requests, people you've met and your chats are now in one list. Starting three days before a chat with someone you met closes, the chat shows when it will close.
You: Profile, settings, Premium, Gist AI memory settings and a list of people you've blocked.
At the event: Check-in and the live conversation rounds have a new full-screen layout. New in this version are conversation starters for each round, a list of who else is sitting out the current round, a private note about the person you're talking with (saved only on the device), and a confirmation after you send a report. We also fixed two bugs: the total number of rounds was missing, and some events didn't show your partner.
Other: A new launch screen that matches the app's background in light and dark mode, and a bundled open-source font (Instrument Serif, SIL Open Font License).
SAFETY
Users can still report and block other users from a chat and during a round. Blocked people are listed under You > Settings > Privacy and safety, where they can be unblocked. Account deletion is in You > Settings.
2.0.0 Oct 2
What's new
• Search on Discover: find events and venues by name.
• Sign up with email: you can now create a Gist account with an email and password, not only a phone number.
• Gist links open in the app: links to app.gistirl.com from texts, emails and QR codes now open straight in Gist.
• Hosts and co-hosts now show at the top of an event's guest list.
• Private reports: when you report someone or a message, that person can no longer see who reported it.
Fixes and improvements
• Check-in no longer gets stuck when the photo check is slow or fails.
• Tapping a notification now opens the right screen, even if the app was closed or another screen was open.
• A paid ticket shows up in Tickets right away, even if you left the event page while it was confirming.
• Saving your profile no longer turns push notifications back on by itself.
• The text notifications switch now tells you if a change didn't save.
• If cancelling an RSVP, refreshing or loading chats fails, you now see an error instead of an empty screen. "Try again" in chat now reconnects.
• If one of your chat lists fails to load, the others stay on screen.
• You no longer get asked to rejoin a live session after you've left it.
• Live sessions and chats do less work in the background, so the app runs smoother.
• Large photos use less memory.
• Icon-only buttons now have VoiceOver labels, and the RSVP menu is easier to tap.
• Removed a placeholder widget and control that showed up in the widget gallery by mistake.
1.7.40 Sep 24
Hosts can share their live location
- Hosts can share their live location from the event page so late guests can find the group. Pick how long, add a note like "back patio," and send one alert to people who haven't arrived yet.
- Stop sharing or keep going from your lock screen. Sharing turns off on its own.
- Guests see where the host is on a map, how far away they are, directions, and a shortcut to the group chat.
A new Connections tab
- A new look, with your most recent chats at the top.
- Group chats show their members' photos.
- Search your connections and switch between People and Groups.
Events
- Co-hosts are labeled on the event page, in the attendee list and in chat.
- Some events now show how many spots are left, and full events say so instead of showing Join.
- Cancelled events no longer show a Join button.
Check-in
- No more Premium upsell in the middle of check-in.
- Clearer messages when we can't confirm your location. You can still check in.
During rounds
- Extending your time is more reliable. If the round ends before the extra time is added, you get a refund and the app tells you.
Sign up
- If something stops you from finishing sign up, like a missing photo or one that didn't upload, the app now tells you what to fix.
Bug fixes and performance improvements.
1.7.39 Sep 15
- If your profile photo did not pass our check, we now tell you in
the app so you can swap it before an event, instead of finding
out at the door.
- The Connections tab badge now counts chats you have never
opened, so a new match does not sit there unnoticed.
- Wording fixes across the home screen. Some rooms are for making
friends, some are for people in your field, and we say that
more clearly now.
1.7.38 Sep 4
Fixed a bug where new members could get past the profile step during sign-up and end up joining events without a photo or name.
Tapping the guest list while signed out now takes you to sign in.
Events that don't use check-in no longer show a check-in button.
1.7.37 Sep 2
Signing up is faster and clearer. Your photo and your name are now separate steps, the event you are joining stays on screen the whole way through, and your photo uploads while you type, so the last tap is not a wait.
Fixes:
- Partner messages no longer pop a banner while you already have that chat open
- Profile changes show up right away instead of after a restart, including a
scheduled account deletion date
1.7.36 Aug 27
Sign in with any country code, not just the five we used to list.
Photos in chat now pinch to zoom, pan, double-tap to zoom, and swipe
down to close.
Discover has new date filters, including Recently added and a
Pick dates option for a custom range.
Event pages show the host's bio on their card in the guest list, and
events that have ended no longer show a Join button.
Fixed text that was hard to read in dark mode on Discover.
1.7.35 Aug 25
Fixed an issue where adding a profile photo during signup could fail without any error message.
General improvements to the home screen.
1.7.34 Aug 18
A fresh new look for Discover is rolling out, with a cleaner, editorial feel
Swipe left on a chat in your Connections tab to delete it
Empty event chats now give you a little push to break the ice
Fixed an issue where pull-to-refresh on Discover could show "Couldn't load events"
Faster loading and stability improvements throughout the app
1.7.33 Aug 12
Host messages in event chat are now marked with a Host badge.
Behind the scenes: product analytics so we can see where the app is getting in your way.
1.7.32 Aug 5
Event ideas and event pages now play short clips over their photos.
Receipts: see what you paid for an event, and the status of any refund.
Faster Discover feed, plus bug fixes and stability improvements.
1.7.31 Jul 29
- Fixed an issue where some events could disappear from your Discover feed.
- Connections, session activity, and reports now save reliably instead of failing silently.
- More reliable chat, including saved Gist AI conversations.
- Event dates and times now display consistently across the app.
- The app can now let you know when a newer version is available.
1.7.30 Jul 16
Gist AI now streams its replies in real time so you see answers as they're written.
Fixed a checkout issue that could leave the payment screen stuck.
Smoother sign-up: incomplete profiles now return to onboarding to finish setup.
Privacy and reliability improvements across events, tickets, and connections.
1.7.29 Jul 8
New Event Ideas feed - swipe through community event ideas near you and double tap to like the ones you want to happen.
Better hosting tools - a new map view and distance filter help you find the perfect nearby event to host.
See who's going - event details now show who's RSVP'd, plus each host's past event count.
Cleaner event lists - cancelled events now move to your Past list with a clear badge.
Faster and smoother - sharper photos, quicker launches that auto-recover from hiccups, and various bug fixes.
1.7.28 Jul 1
Discover distances now display in your local unit — miles or kilometers based on your region
The Discover city picker now sets your home location, and a home you pick yourself takes priority over your IP‑detected location
Added a "request my city" flow when your host city isn't yet a Gist region, with region‑scoped event browsing and polished, host‑framed copy
Suggestions now show loading skeletons instead of an empty screen while they load, and refresh from the server when the cache is empty on a cold start
Profile premium benefits are tidied up behind a "What's included" toggle for a cleaner subscription screen
Restored the Host button for email‑signup members
Fixed a crash in the Connect grid when scrolling quickly
1.7.27 Jun 26
- Discover events near you with a new distance-based search — set a location and pick your radius in miles.
- A new Discover map positions you automatically and draws your coverage radius, with GPS used only on demand.
- The event attendee list is now open to everyone — no longer Premium-only.
- Your Connections are now grouped by event, newest first, instead of one long list.
- Added a notifications toggle right in the Connections bell menu.
- "See everyone" in Gist AI now takes you straight to the Connect page.
- Your profile now matches the web app, with inline location, theme, and bio.
- We'll re-run onboarding if your signed-in profile is missing a name or photo.
- Fixed a bug with Gist AI on first open.
1.7.26 Jun 25
-The Gist AI concierge — full assistant.
-Live Activity partner photo, live connect-requests, live round/time-left on check-in, delete-all-chats.
-Fixes and enhancements
1.7.25 Jun 23
-image caching optimizations
-bug fixes and enhancements
1.7.24 Jun 18
-improved check-in flow
1.7.23 Jun 17
-urgent security bug fix
-messages/connection enhancements and bug fixes
1.7.22 Jun 11
-updates to event joining experience
1.7.21 Jun 10
-tweaks to verbiage
1.7.20 May 26
-tweaks to event joining experience
-enhancement & bug fixes
1.7.19 May 19
-tweaks to discover page
1.7.18 May 14
Font bug fix
more Version 2.0.1 Oct 6
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