The places you follow have been posting. Now you can see it. • Posts from businesses you have joined now appear on their page, in your feed and on your profile. They had been going out and landing nowhere. • A post from a business is now signed by the business, with its name and its picture, instead of by whoever happened to type it. • Businesses can now edit their own details and opening hours from the app, not only from a computer. • A business can mark members as staff and send messages meant only for the people running things. Anyone marked is asked first, and can say no. • Member lists now put whoever runs the business at the top, and show who works there. • Links you send in a message now show a preview. • An event that has finished now talks about itself in the past tense, instead of still telling you who is there. • The "with…" line under a photo now shows the people you tagged. It never had, since the day it arrived. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Check in, even if you once said no. • If location is switched off for Hot Spots, the app now tells you exactly where to turn it back on, and takes you straight there. Before, the button asked again and quietly did nothing, with no way forward from inside the app. • It also knows the difference between location being off for your whole phone and simply not being able to find you indoors, and tells you which it is. • You can now remove a comment from your own post, and take back one you left on someone else's. • Claiming a business now works. Recording the verification video used to fail at the last step, every time, for everyone who tried. • Notifications now arrive in the language you are using the app in. They were coming in English however your phone was set. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Messages, made more reliable. • Fixed a message that could sit looking unsent when it had actually sent — and could be sent twice as a result. • The app now asks the server far less often, so chats hold up better when it is busy. • Conversations update as you read them, instead of holding their unread mark.

Photos in a post now show properly. • A post with several photos shows each one in full, instead of cutting off the bottom. • A business profile's Overview is three clear numbers — members, check-ins and events. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Events are here — plan one, share it anywhere, and see who actually turns up. • Businesses can run an event, ask up to three questions when someone joins, and approve who comes — or let anyone in. • Share an event by link. Tap it and you land right where you can say you're coming. • Saying you're coming also joins that Hot Spot's community, so you hear about the next one. • Tell the host you're on your way, or that you're running ten minutes late. • Tap "I'm here" when you arrive, and the host watches the room fill up. • Hosts can send announcements and polls to everyone during an event, including a right answer they reveal when they're ready. • Your profile no longer opens blank showing "Your Name". • The back button in a chat works while the keyboard is up. • A message from a business opens the business, not the person who runs it. • Search is much faster. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Typing works everywhere now — chat, comments, stories, meetups — and a batch of things that were quietly broken are fixed. • The text box stays above the keyboard on every screen, and the top of a chat stays put while you type. • Video posts play when you open them to comment, instead of showing a blank space. • Share a profile into a chat and it shows the person's name and face, not an empty card. • Profile pictures now show at the top of a chat. • When tagging a place, picking a whole city or neighbourhood now asks you for a specific spot instead of failing. • Business plans: Upgrade and Change plan go where they should, and Plans tells you if your plan is ending. • Claimed a venue? You'll be told the outcome — and if it wasn't approved, why. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Share a place, a person or a meetup and the link opens Hot Spots right on it — and you can now invite people who aren't on Hot Spots yet. • Send someone a hot spot, a profile or a meetup and they see a real preview with a photo. Tapping it opens the app on the exact thing you shared, instead of just the app. • Invite someone who isn't on Hot Spots yet to a meetup. They can ask to join, and you approve or decline. • Share only appears where it actually works, so you can't send a link the other person can't open. • Notifications now arrive in your language. • Notifications arrive when they happen, instead of turning up late in a bunch. • Voice notes play reliably again. • Photos on check-ins line up properly instead of sitting off to one side. • You can share your own meetups now, and the invite box no longer hides behind the keyboard. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Photos and videos you send in a chat arrive again, and a few things from the last update that were not quite finished now are. • Sending a photo or a video in a chat works again. You and the person you are chatting with both need this update to see them — anything you send to someone still on the old version will not show up on their side. • Double-tap to like now works on a message you have translated, instead of the tap being read as translating it again. • A meetup that has finished no longer shows a live dot on your home feed. • Liking and commenting on a meetup works after it has ended, not only while it is still happening. • A photo in a chat you have had open for a while no longer goes blank. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

A cleaner ring around everyone's picture, and you can now like and comment on everything in your feed. • The rings around people's pictures are one ring split into arcs — one for each thing they have going on. The ones for people who are somewhere right now gently pulse, and they show up on profiles too. • Everything in your feed can be liked and commented on now, including meetups and group check-ins. • Meetups can be liked and commented on wherever you see them, and the count stays the same everywhere. • Tap a comment notification and you land on the thing that was commented on. • A meetup that has finished no longer looks like it is still happening. • Editing a meetup opens the time picker on the time it is actually set to, instead of always 6:00 PM. • Creating a meetup no longer makes a group chat you did not ask for — start one when you want it. • Fixed the place search when adding a location to a story, and the message box no longer hides behind the navigation bar. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Voice notes you can actually see, a chat that keeps up with your typing, and notifications that know when you're already reading. • Voice notes have a real waveform and a bigger play button — and you can tap anywhere along it to jump to that part. • No more notification from the person you are already chatting with. Messages from everyone else still come through as usual. • Tap a message notification and you land on the new message, instead of arriving at the old ones and having to back out and come in again. • Picking a reaction closes the menu by itself, and the emoji gives a little pop as you tap it. It used to sit there waiting to be dismissed. • Typing in a long conversation no longer makes the messages above it stutter. • Message times have moved out of the way — drag a conversation to the left to see them all, and let go to put them away. • A meetup photo fills its frame instead of leaving a gap down one side. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

You can now see who liked a photo, not just who liked a check-in. • Open someone's activity and the names under a like show on their photos and videos too. It already worked on their check-ins, and only there. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Someone's photo now shows you where they are, check-ins end when they say they will, and translate knows what language a message is in. • Tap someone's photo on their profile to see where they are checked in right now — the same story you would see from Home. It used to do nothing at all. • When a check-in's time runs out, that person stops showing as being there straight away, and everywhere at once. Their dot used to keep glowing in some places for a while after their story had already ended. • Translate now knows what language a message is actually in, instead of guessing from the alphabet. It stays out of the way on messages you can already read, and offers itself on the ones you cannot. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Chats are quicker, you can react with more than a heart, and the photos you send are private. • Conversations open on your newest message and stay smooth however long they get. They used to load the whole history at once. • Seven reactions instead of one. Hold a message to pick one, tap the badge to take it back. • Photos and videos you send in chat are now private. They are no longer kept at a permanent web address, which is what makes the next line honest. • Send a photo that can be opened once. Choose View once before you send it. • Write something with a photo before you send it, instead of sending a second message after it. • Double-tap a photo to react to it. • Translate is a tap under the message rather than hidden behind a long press — and it only appears when the message is in another language. • Voice notes play the first time you tap them. They could stay silent until you had recorded one of your own. • Pull down on Home to refresh. • Opening a chat from a notification and pressing back no longer lands on a blank screen. • A story waits for its picture before the timer starts. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Russian throughout, and venues can now see their monthly allowance before they use it. • Hot Spots now speaks Russian — the whole app, not parts of it. Settings → Language. • If you run a venue, the number of events and offers your plan includes this month now appears on the screen where you create them, so you know what is left before you start rather than after. • Reach the limit and you will see plainly what your plan includes and what the next one adds. • The Plans screen is simpler, and now lists only what a plan actually gives you today. • Upgrade opens the pricing page. It had been pointing at a page that did not exist. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Hidden chats, five photos at once, and messages that send the moment you tap. • Hide a conversation. Swipe left on any chat, tap Hide, and it leaves your inbox — new messages in it arrive with no notification, no badge, nothing at all. Type your secret word into the Messages search box to open it again, behind Face ID. • Mute any chat without hiding it, on the same swipe. • Heads up: delete has moved to a swipe the other way. • Messages now appear the instant you send them instead of waiting on the network. If one fails it stays where it is and sends again on a tap — it will never wipe what you typed. • Send up to five photos or videos at once. • Play voice notes at 1x, 1.5x or 2x. • You can now see who you are talking to in the chat header. • New to Hot Spots? A short introduction on first launch, then hints on each button as you get to it. Replay it any time from Settings. • Privacy Policy and Terms now open properly. They had been pointing at a page that no longer exists. • Fixed a fault that stopped anyone sending in a group chat. • Profile counts now match what you can actually see — a check-in count no longer includes activity that is hidden from you. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Voice notes, message translation, and a much better Messages tab. • Send a voice note. Tap the mic, talk, tap send. • Reading a message in another language? Tap and hold it, then "See translation" — it appears in yours. • Changed your mind? Edit a message after you've sent it, or unsend it entirely. • Tap and hold any message to copy it. • Reply to a reply. Conversations no longer dead-end when someone answers you. • Share a place, a person or a meetup straight into a chat — or out to WhatsApp, Instagram and anywhere else. • See who liked your story, not just who watched it. Tap any name to open their profile. • Your notifications no longer disappear. Likes, comments and friend requests now stay put for three weeks. • Better friend suggestions, based on the friends you actually have in common — and you can dismiss anyone you'd rather not see. • Discover which Hot Spots to join, based on where you are and where your friends go. • New messages now show up in your inbox straight away. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Hot Spots has a dark mode — plus posts you can edit, and a much faster app. • Dark mode. The whole app follows your phone's appearance setting. • Share up to 5 photos in one post, and swipe through them in the feed. • Changed your mind? Edit a post after you've shared it — the caption, the place, and who's tagged. • When you tag a place, you now choose whether the post also appears on that place's community page. Off unless you say so, when you post and when you edit. • Like and comment on check-ins from someone's profile, the same as anywhere else. • Set your city to anywhere in the world — or tap "Use my location" and we'll fill it in for you. • Press and hold someone's picture to see it properly. • The app opens on your content instead of a spinner. Home, Messages, Discover and Profile all remember where you left off. • Everything is quicker. Screens no longer wait on a needless round trip before they start loading. • Opening a chat from a notification now shows who it's from. • A new post appears on your home feed straight away. • Find Friends remembers the requests you've already sent. • The keyboard no longer covers the box while you're writing a comment. • A few screens showed placeholder text where real words should have been. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Double-tap a message to like it — and a few fixes. • Like a message by double-tapping it, just like a photo. • Tap a photo in a chat to see it full screen. • Replying to a message now shows the message you're replying to properly. • Your notifications no longer fill up with messages — new messages stay in the Messages tab, where they belong. • Clearer wording when a place can't be added from search. • Various stability improvements. Thanks for being here early. Connecting the Real World.

Fixes and improvements: • Password reset now works from the sign-in screen • Posting a photo now confirms and returns you to your feed • Comments open correctly from a profile • Place search now shows venues near you • See who liked a post, and tap through to their profile • Mention people in comments with @ • Long-press a chat to preview it without marking it read • More privacy control over who can see your friends list