Questions, answered

• How does a season work?

  A season is eight weeks. You pick one night (Monday to Thursday, 8 pm your time). For the first two weeks you sit at try-out tables with different people from your city. After each one you privately pick who you’d sit with again. In week three, people whose picks line up become a table, and you meet with that same table every week for the rest of the season.
• What happens at a table?

  At 7:55 pm everyone shares their week in one line, so you arrive caught up. At 8:00 you join a half-hour video call with your table and one question to start. The questions get a little more personal as the season goes. At 8:30 the call ends.
• What if my picks don’t line up with anyone?

  We seat you with the people who came closest and keep looking. If you finish a season without a table you want to keep, your next season is free.
• Do we have to meet in person?

  No. Around week five we suggest a coffee for tables that live near each other: a busy public spot, on a weekend morning, halfway between you. Plenty of tables just keep their Tuesdays, and that’s fine.
• Why the same people every week?

  Because that’s how friendships form. Seeing the same people again and again, with a little more honesty each time, is what turns strangers into friends. Rotating strangers is a nice evening; it isn’t a friend. More on that on why Teatime.
• What if I can’t make it one week?

  Tap “can’t make it” and your table knows. Three people still make a good table. Missing a lot without saying anything is the one thing that gets people moved off a table.
• What if one person at my table doesn’t work out?

  Tell us privately. We can move them, or move you, without a scene. Nobody is told who asked.
• Can people message me?

  Only in your table’s shared thread, which the four of you can see. There are no private messages, and asking anyone for money or selling anything gets you removed.
• Does my camera have to be on?

  Mostly, yes. Faces are a big part of how people get comfortable with each other. You can turn it off for a moment if you need to.
• Is anything recorded?

  No. Calls are not recorded, and there’s no transcript. The only things that last are the one-line weekly updates you choose to write and your table’s thread.
• Who can join?

  Anyone 18 or older who confirms their identity. We open one city at a time, so you may wait a little while your city fills up.
• What does it cost?

  $48 for an eight-week season, which works out to about $6 a week. Founding members pay $24 for their first season. You pay per season, so there’s no subscription to cancel.
• Is this a dating app?

  No. Tables are about friendship, and we seat them that way. Anyone treating it as dating gets moved off.

Something else? Write to hello@helloteatime.com.