Using the Neighbors App Contact Me Feature

In the Neighbors app, you can choose to allow users to contact you about a post without providing any personal information (e.g. name or phone number).

The Contact Me feature gives others the ability to contact you in real-time to provide information  relevant to your Neighbors post.

How does the Contact Me feature work?

When posting to the Neighbors app, there may be instances where you’d like to receive updates from others when you’re looking for a lost pet or a missing person. You can opt to receive communication by text message (SMS) or by phone.

For your safety and privacy, the Contact Me feature uses proxy phone numbers during a communication exchange so that your personal information remains completely anonymous.

How to create a post using the Contact Me feature

To allow other Neighbors app users to contact you, follow these steps when creating a new post:

1. Tap

   New Post (+)

   in the bottom right-hand side of your feed.
2. Select a

   Category

   that best describes your incident.
   • Read and agree to our

     Community Guidelines

     .
3. Add details to your post, including a

   Photo

   or

   Video

   ,

   Title

   , and

   Description.

• If posting from the

  Ring app

  , you can upload videos from your Ring devices.

4. Under Post Options, tap Contact Me

• Toggle the button to

  On

  . The Contact Me setting is automatically defaulted to

  Off

  and must be enabled to activate the feature.
• Confirm your

  Phone Number.
  • If you have 2-Step Verification turned on, you can use the phone number that is saved to your account to activate the feature.
  • If you’d like to use a phone number that is different from your 2-Step Verification number, you can enter it manually.

After entering your phone number, you’ll receive a text message confirming you’d like to enable the Contact Me feature. Once you confirm, an anonymous proxy number will be assigned to you. Your real phone number will not be used or displayed to other Neighbors users. *Message and data rates may apply.

You can reply CANCEL at any time to opt out of using the feature.

Once you’ve enabled the feature, follow these steps to finish setting up your post:

1. From the setup screen, tap

   Preview Post

   to review the post information.
2. If everything looks good, tap

   Share Post.
3. Read and confirm that your post satisfies the listed requirements.
4. Tap

   ‘I Agree, Share My Post.'

How to contact others who have enabled Contact Me

To contact another Neighbors app user, follow these steps:

1. Tap on the post that you’d like to respond to and view Post Details.

• If the Contact Me feature is enabled, you’ll see a blue

  Contact Author

  button in the description.

2. Tap Contact Author.

3. Select Send SMS (text message) or Call as your method of contact.

After choosing SMS or a phone call as your method of contact, a proxy phone number will be created for you that will serve as your temporary number to either text or call the post author.

When using a proxy phone number, your real phone number is hidden to the person that you are contacting. The post author also has a proxy number to keep both parties’ personal information protected.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Contact Me be available for all posts?

Yes, you can choose to turn on the Contact Me feature on any individual post you create.

Is Contact Me enabled by default for all posts that I create?

Contact Me is disabled by default for all new posts. You will need to enable it for each post that you create if you wish to be contacted.

What happens if I delete my post?

If you delete your post, the Contact Me feature will be disabled and all existing SMS and phone sessions will be cancelled.

What happens if I resolve my post?

If you resolve your post, the Contact Author button will be removed from your post description and all existing SMS and phone sessions will be cancelled.

How does the Neighbors App ensure that communication via Contact Me remains anonymous?

The Contact Me feature uses proxy phone numbers to allow for communication between users to remain anonymous. Personal phone numbers are never shared by Ring.

Do I have the option to turn off Contact Me on my posts?

You can turn Contact Me off at any time by going into the More Options section of the individual post. This will prevent future communication via Contact Me, but will not interrupt or delete ongoing conversations. Contact Me communication sessions remain active for 7 days. During this timeframe, both parties can communicate using their assigned proxy numbers. After 30 days, the Contact Me feature will automatically be turned off on a post.

Can I prevent an individual person from contacting me using Contact Me?

To block specific users, you can use your SMS (text message) or phone tools located within your phone settings. This will prevent any further communications from that user.

What to do if you receive unwanted or inappropriate communication

Neighbors aims to create and maintain a safe environment for all users. Harassment of any form goes against our Community Guidelines.

Keep in mind that any previous or current communication exchanges with other users is always done through a proxy number, and never through your real phone number. If you disable the Contact Me feature or block an individual user using your phone’s settings, the other user can no longer contact you through the proxy number that was assigned to you.

If you’d like to stop communication with another user, there are different actions you can take to resolve the situation.

How to opt out of Contact Me

At any time, you can text CANCEL to opt out of the Contact Me feature. Taking this action will disable the Contact Me feature on any posts that currently have the feature enabled.

How to disable Contact Me from your post

You can remove the feature from a single post.

1. Go to the post and tap the three dots in the top right-hand corner.
2. Tap

   Remove Contact Me.
3. Your post remains active until you’ve resolve it, but the

   Contact Me

   feature will be disabled.

Hide Contact Me from your post

You can hide the Contact Me feature from a single post. This is useful if someone is helping you resolve your post, but you’d like to prevent anyone else from contacting you. Your contact line remains open with anyone you’ve corresponded with prior to hiding the feature.

1. Go to the post and tap the three dots in the top right-hand corner.
2. Tap

   Hide Contact Me.
3. Your post remains active until you’ve resolve it, but the Contact Me feature will be hidden.

Resolve or delete your post

You can resolve or delete your post to disable the Contact Me feature.

1. Go to the post and

   tap the three dots

   in the top right-hand corner.
2. To resolve a post, tap

   Resolve

   .
   • Resolving a post keeps it in your feed, but lets your Neighbors know your issue was resolved.
3. To delete a post, tap

   Delete.
   1. Deleting a post removes it from your feed.

Block contacts on your phone

You can also block an individual user through your cell phone’s SMS or call settings the same way you would block an unwanted caller. The steps for blocking a caller varies from phone to phone, but you can usually find this information online by searching, “How to block a caller from [phone model]” or a similar phrase.

Additional Resources

If you feel that you’ve experienced harassment, please contact our Customer Support Team or file a report with your local law enforcement agency. Please read the Ring Law Enforcement Guidelines for more details.