Question 1

What is ESCAPE?

Accepted Answer

ESCAPE is a platform to discover local events, join communities, and connect with people near you. Browse events by category or location, RSVP for free or buy tickets for paid events, join communities, chat with organizers and attendees, and find compatible people through AI matching, all in one app.

Question 2

Is ESCAPE free to use?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Downloading the app, browsing events, joining communities, RSVPing to free events, chatting, and using AI matching are all free. Paid events are priced by the organizer. Vibe, our mutual-interest matching feature, offers 3 free vibes per event, with additional vibes available as in-app purchases.

Question 3

What platforms is ESCAPE available on?

Accepted Answer

ESCAPE is available on iOS (App Store), Android (Google Play), and the web (web.esc-ape.ca). The mobile app has the full feature set including chat, communities, Vibe matching, and event creation. The web app supports event discovery, community browsing, invitation RSVPs, and ticket management.

Question 4

What languages does ESCAPE support?

Accepted Answer

ESCAPE is fully translated into 15 languages: English, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai, Turkish, and Vietnamese. Every string in the app (2,900+ keys) is professionally translated.

Question 5

How do I create an account?

Accepted Answer

ESCAPE uses passwordless authentication. Download the app, enter your phone number, and verify with an SMS code. No passwords to remember. Your phone number is your identity, and you can add an email for verification later.

Question 6

How do I contact support?

Accepted Answer

Email us at general@esc-ape.ca or call 604-729-2832. You can also reach us on Instagram (@escape_platforms) or LinkedIn. We're based in Toronto, Canada.

Question 7

How do I find events near me?

Accepted Answer

On the Discover page, tap "Near Me" to enable location-based search. You can adjust the radius from 1km to 500km, or browse by city or country. Filter by category (12 main categories, 236+ subcategories), date, price (free or paid), and more. Events are powered by Algolia search for instant results.

Question 8

How do I join an event?

Accepted Answer

Find an event on the Discover page and tap RSVP. Free events confirm instantly. Paid events go through secure Stripe checkout, where you can pay with credit/debit cards in 12 currencies (CAD, USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, JPY, KRW, and more). After joining, you'll get access to the event chat and can add it to your calendar.

Question 9

Can I add event tickets to my phone wallet?

Accepted Answer

Yes. After purchasing a ticket, you can add it to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet directly from the app or web. Your ticket includes a QR code for check-in at the door. You can also download an ICS file to add the event to Apple Calendar, Outlook, or Google Calendar.

Question 10

What is a recurring event?

Accepted Answer

Organizers can create events that repeat on a schedule: daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly. The system automatically generates new event instances ahead of time. You can RSVP to individual instances or follow the series to get notified about upcoming ones.

Question 11

Will I get reminders about events?

Accepted Answer

Yes. ESCAPE sends automatic push notifications 1–2 hours before events you've RSVPed to. You can toggle reminders on or off per event in the app.

Question 12

What are Event Memories?

Accepted Answer

After an event ends, attendees can share photos and stories in the Memories section. These are visible to other attendees and serve as a visual timeline of past events. Privacy controls let you choose who can see your memories.

Question 13

What event categories are available?

Accepted Answer

ESCAPE has 12 main categories: Sports & Fitness, Activities, Art & Culture, Food & Drink, Hobbies & Crafts, Social & Networking, Parties & Celebrations, Travel & Outdoors, Learning & Self-Development, Career & Business, Pet, and Diversity & Inclusion. Each category has dozens of subcategories, over 236 in total.

Question 14

What types of communities exist on ESCAPE?

Accepted Answer

ESCAPE supports 5 community types: Groups (social clubs, hobby teams), Venues (cafes, studios, gyms), Businesses (brands, agencies, promoters), Universities (campus organizations, student groups), and Instructors (coaches, tutors, workshop leaders). Each type comes with tailored capabilities: venues get map listings and booking tools, instructors get class management, etc.

Question 15

How do I join a community?

Accepted Answer

Browse communities on the Communities page: search by name, filter by category, or use Near Me. Communities have different join policies: some are open (join instantly), some require approval (submit a request), and some are invite-only. Some communities may ask you to fill out a questionnaire when joining.

Question 16

Can I create my own community?

Accepted Answer

Yes. In the mobile app, tap the create button and choose your community type. You'll set up a profile with name, description, photos, and category. As the owner, you get full management tools: member roles, moderation, analytics, announcements, event hosting, and more.

Question 17

What management tools do community leaders get?

Accepted Answer

Community owners and admins get: hierarchical member roles (Owner, Admin, Manager, Moderator, Member), custom member types (VIP, Alumni, Staff, etc.), join approval workflows, broadcast announcements, community chat, polls and voting, registration questionnaires with conditional logic, moderation tools (bans, reports, audit logs), member analytics, and full event hosting within the community.

Question 18

How can my venue or business get on ESCAPE?

Accepted Answer

Many venues are already on ESCAPE through our Mapbox-powered point-of-interest database. Search for your business on the map. If it's there, tap "Claim" to take ownership. If not, you can add it manually. Once claimed, you can manage your profile, photos, hours, and amenities.

Question 19

How does venue verification work?

Accepted Answer

After claiming your venue, you can verify it through domain email verification (we'll send a code to your business email) or document verification (upload your business license or incorporation papers for manual review). Verified venues get a badge, higher search ranking, and increased trust from users.

Question 20

Can events be linked to my venue?

Accepted Answer

Yes. When organizers create events, they can select your venue as the location. This creates automatic cross-promotion: the event appears on your venue's page, and your venue details (photos, hours, directions) appear on the event page. It's free exposure for your business.

Question 21

What tools do venue owners get?

Accepted Answer

Venue owners can manage: business profile (photos, hours, amenities, contact info), service listings with payment processing, customer and booking management, reviews and photo contributions from visitors, event listings at your location, and analytics on visitor engagement. All integrated into the map for maximum discoverability.

Question 22

How do I create a paid event?

Accepted Answer

In the mobile app, create an event and toggle "Paid Event." Set up ticket types (e.g., General, VIP, Student) with individual pricing and capacity. Connect your Stripe account to receive payouts. You can sell tickets in 12 currencies (CAD, USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, JPY, KRW, SGD, INR, MXN, BRL, NZD) across 32+ countries.

Question 23

What are the fee options for paid events?

Accepted Answer

You choose how fees are handled: "Host pays all" (you absorb all fees, attendees pay the ticket price), "Attendee pays service fees" (attendees pay ticket + service fee), or "Attendee pays all" (attendees pay ticket + all fees). The fee model is set per event and shown to attendees at checkout.

Question 24

Can I create promo codes?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Create percentage or fixed-amount discount codes with optional usage limits and expiry dates. You can restrict codes to specific ticket types or make them work for all types. Real-time validation ensures codes can't be over-redeemed. You can also disable codes without deleting them.

Question 25

What happens when my event sells out?

Accepted Answer

ESCAPE automatically enables a waitlist for sold-out ticket types. Users join the waitlist and receive a push notification when spots become available (e.g., if someone cancels or you increase capacity). Waitlist positions are first-come, first-served.

Question 26

How do I check attendees in at the door?

Accepted Answer

Each ticket generates a unique QR code (JWT-signed for security). Use the ESCAPE app to scan QR codes at the door. It validates the ticket and marks the attendee as checked in. Your check-in dashboard shows real-time counts and who has arrived vs. who hasn't.

Question 27

Can I see my revenue and export data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The organizer dashboard shows total revenue, sales by ticket type, payout history, and attendee details (name, email, ticket type, payment status, check-in status). You can export your attendee list to CSV for accounting, email campaigns, or post-event analysis.

Question 28

Can I create custom registration forms?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Build questionnaires with 10 question types (text, paragraph, dropdown, radio, checkbox, number, date, scale, terms acceptance, file upload). Add conditional logic so questions appear based on previous answers. Scope questions to specific ticket types. Reuse forms via templates across events.

Question 29

What refund policies are available?

Accepted Answer

ESCAPE supports 7 refund policies, from full refunds until the event starts to no refunds allowed, with percentage-based options in between. The policy is locked at purchase time, so attendees know exactly what they're getting. If you cancel an event, all paid attendees can be refunded automatically.

Question 30

What is Vibe?

Accepted Answer

Vibe is ESCAPE's mutual-interest matching feature. At events, you can send a Vibe to someone you'd like to connect with. Choose your intent: Connect (networking), Hang Out (friendship), or Interested (romantic). If they send a Vibe back, you match and can start chatting. It's completely double-blind. No one sees your Vibe unless they vibe back.

Question 31

How does AI Compatibility work?

Accepted Answer

ESCAPE scores compatibility across 8 dimensions: shared interests, social proximity (mutual connections), location, professional background, language overlap, event co-attendance patterns, bio similarity (via AI embeddings), and preference alignment. Scores are explainable, so you can see why someone is a good match. All scoring is privacy-safe; your raw answers are never exposed.

Question 32

Is Vibe free?

Accepted Answer

You get 3 free vibes per event (one per intent type). Additional vibes are available as in-app purchases: 3 vibes for $6.99, 12 for $17.99 (36% off), or 50 for $49.99 (57% off). Super Vibes, which match any intent, cost 3x normal vibes.

Question 33

What payment methods are accepted?

Accepted Answer

Paid events accept credit and debit cards through Stripe: Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and other major brands. Payments are processed securely with PCI-compliant infrastructure. ESCAPE supports 12 currencies for global events.

Question 34

How do I get a refund?

Accepted Answer

Refund eligibility depends on the event's refund policy, which is set by the organizer and shown at checkout. Eligible refunds are processed to your original payment method through Stripe. If you have a payment issue, contact us at general@esc-ape.ca.

Question 35

How do organizers get paid?

Accepted Answer

Organizers connect a Stripe account during event setup. Payments use Stripe Connect's destination charge model, so funds go directly to the organizer's account after the platform fee. Payouts follow Stripe's standard schedule (typically weekly for established accounts). Multi-currency payouts are supported.

Question 36

Is my payment information secure?

Accepted Answer

Yes. ESCAPE never stores your card details. All payment processing is handled by Stripe, a PCI Level 1 certified payment processor. Additional security includes Cloudflare Turnstile CAPTCHA on web forms, server-side amount validation to prevent tampering, and correlation IDs for full payment traceability.

Frequently Asked Questions

General

Events

Communities

Venues & Local Businesses

Organizer Tools

Vibe & AI Matching

Payments & Refunds

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