DEV Community From $8/mo · Free plan 9.3 Visit Geneva
geneva.com
What it is
Geneva is a group chat app for discovering communities, meeting people, and finding or arranging local events and meetups. It is available on the web and through iOS and Android apps, with a free plan listed at free. Chat rooms support mentions, threaded replies, reactions, GIFs, attachments, polls, and pins. Audio rooms provide drop-in group audio with no stated participant limit; forum rooms support formatted posts and sorting by recency or popularity. Broadcast rooms allow up to 9 people on air and thousands of viewers, while video rooms support up to 16 people. Group tools include member questionnaires, event invitations, a calendar, token-gated rooms, and configurable roles and permissions. Geneva says its service will remain free and that it will not show ads or sell user data. Creating an account requires a phone number rather than an email address. Following its acquisition by Bumble, Geneva said it was temporarily making the service invite-only during a transition. The site links to a Help Center and contact page for assistance.
Spec sheet
- What it does
- Geneva is a group communication app for discovering local groups, chatting, meeting people, and organizing events.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Purpose
- Geneva is a group chat app for discovering groups, meeting people, and finding or planning local events and meetups.Read 11 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Support
- Geneva's site links to a Help Center and a contact page for assistance.Read 11 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Founded
- LinkedIn lists Geneva as founded in 2019.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
- Acquisition
- Bumble completed its acquisition of Geneva Technologies on July 1, 2024 for $17.5 million in cash consideration net of cash acquired.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sec.gov
- Acquisition purpose
- Bumble said Geneva technology would expand Bumble For Friends from one-to-one connections into groups and communities.Read 15 Oct 2026 · ir.bumble.com
- Age requirement
- An Android release announcement said Geneva would enforce a minimum user age of 17.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- API and integrations
- Geneva described a planned membership API intended to connect homes to other systems through Zapier.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Audio rooms
- Audio rooms allow drop-in group conversations with unlimited participants.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Availability
- Geneva says users can use the service on the web and its iOS and Android apps.Read 11 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Broadcast rooms
- Broadcast rooms support up to nine live presenters and thousands of viewers.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Chat rooms
- Chat rooms support mentions, threaded replies, reactions, GIFs, attachments, polls, pins, and typing indicators.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Developer extensibility
- The cited public pages describe no SDK, self-hosting option, or open-source licence; open-source status is therefore not stated.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Discovery
- Users can discover groups based on interests and location.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Documentation
- The official site links to a Notion help center, town rules, contact information, and terms/privacy pages.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Events
- Event tools provide invitations, a shared calendar, RSVPs, and reminders.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Forum rooms
- Forum rooms provide rich-text long-form posts with sorting options.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Free access
- Geneva's launch announcement says the service will always be free to use.Read 11 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Free usage
- Geneva said it would always be free, show no ads, and not sell user data.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Funding
- TechCrunch reported that Geneva had raised about $36 million from investors including Coatue, Instagram founders Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom, Michael Moritz, and Jack Conte.Read 15 Oct 2026 · techcrunch.com
- Group management
- Group tools include member questionnaires, event invitations, a calendar, token-gated rooms, and configurable roles and permissions.Read 11 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Invite-only transition
- After its acquisition by Bumble, Geneva said it was temporarily making the service invite-only while it transitioned.Read 11 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Legal name
- Crunchbase identifies the legal entity as Geneva Technologies, Inc. and names Justin Hauser as founder.Read 15 Oct 2026 · crunchbase.com
- Limit: bugs
- A reviewer reported iOS chat glitches requiring the app to be closed and reopened.Read 15 Oct 2026 · justuseapp.com
- Limit: iPad support
- Reviewers repeatedly requested a proper iPad version or better iPad support.Read 15 Oct 2026 · justuseapp.com
- Limit: missing features
- Reviewers requested search, monthly calendar view, manual group sorting, age verification, and stronger blocking.Read 15 Oct 2026 · justuseapp.com
- Limit: notifications
- Reviewers said notifications were confusing or made active rooms difficult to follow.Read 15 Oct 2026 · justuseapp.com
- Maker company
- LinkedIn lists Geneva as a privately held technology company with 11–50 employees and headquarters in New York, New York.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
- Membership screening
- Built-in questionnaires let group owners screen prospective members.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Moderation
- The product includes blocking, banning, violation reporting, and planned reporting to group leaders.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Phone number signup
- Geneva's launch announcement says account creation requires a phone number rather than an email address.Read 11 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Phone signup
- The original product required phone-number registration instead of email to reduce spam and trolling.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Praise: community building
- Reviewers praised meeting people in new cities, joining events, and maintaining multiple friend groups.Read 15 Oct 2026 · justuseapp.com
- Praise: organization
- Reviewers praised separate rooms for different conversations and a clean, intuitive layout.Read 15 Oct 2026 · justuseapp.com
- Privacy and ads
- Geneva's launch announcement says it will not show ads or sell user data.Read 11 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Privacy data
- JustUseApp lists contact information, user content, search history, identifiers, usage data, and diagnostics as data linked to users.Read 15 Oct 2026 · justuseapp.com
- Product updates
- The 2022 update added message search, forum rooms, room categories, screen sharing, presence, friends, opt-in rooms, and locked rooms.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Rating on Apple App Store
- 4.2 out of 5 from 8.6K ratings on the listing formerly identified as Geneva and now titled BFF: Make friends & meet up.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
- Rating on JustUseApp
- 4.7 out of 5 from 2,363 App Store user reviews analyzed by JustUseApp.Read 15 Oct 2026 · justuseapp.com
- Revenue status
- Bumble's filing described Geneva as a pre-revenue company whose principal assets were its social networking technology and related intellectual property.Read 15 Oct 2026 · sec.gov
- Roles and permissions
- Group roles control invitations, room creation, and message moderation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Token gating
- Geneva supports wallet connection and token-gated rooms for tokenized communities.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Transition status
- Geneva announced after the acquisition that it would temporarily become invite-only while continuing to support existing groups.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
- Video rooms
- Video rooms support private video conversations for up to 16 people.Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
Plans and prices
Free Free Free Group chats and community features Read 21 Sep 2026 · apps.apple.com
Free Free all app features · no ads · no selling user data Read 15 Oct 2026 · geneva.com
Strong points and limits
Strong points
- Runs on web, iOS, and Android.
- Chat rooms include polls, threads, and attachments.
- Broadcast rooms support thousands of viewers.
- Group tools include calendars and configurable permissions.
Limits
- Account creation requires a phone number.
- Service was temporarily invite-only during a transition.
- Video rooms support up to 16 people.
- Broadcast rooms allow up to 9 people on air.
Who it suits
Geneva suits people looking for group conversations, community discovery, or local events and meetups. Its room types and group-management tools may also suit organizers running a community.
Verdict
Geneva combines multiple room formats with tools for events and group administration, and its listed plan is free. Account signup requires a phone number, and the service has described a temporary invite-only transition.
Where Specifiction places it
- Online Community Platforms#12 of 548.5
- Social Networking Software#6 of 248.6
