Buddies

Buddies lets you connect with up to five people you go out in service with and see each other's planned days, start times, and durations for the next eight weeks. You also see the badges each buddy shares. It works on iPhone, iPad, and Android, and buddies on different platforms can connect with each other. On the Schedule calendar, a buddy's photo or initial on a day means you're going out together, and a small dot under a day means other buddies plan to go out. Tap the day to see who. On iPhone and iPad, the Calendar widget shows the same marks and updates when WitnessWork refreshes Buddies, so open the app if it looks behind. It is free when available, and needs WitnessWork from the App Store or Google Play on a device that can be verified (see "Why does WitnessWork say it can't verify this device?"). Open Schedule, tap Buddies at the top, and complete the introduction with your profile name. A dot on that button means a request is waiting for you to confirm. Buddies may be unavailable during rollout. Update the installed app if the Buddies button is missing. If the button is dimmed, Buddies is temporarily unavailable; your saved buddies stay on your calendar, so try again later.

Open Buddies from Schedule, or tap Invite Buddies on a new Plan before you have a buddy, and tap Invite a Buddy or the + button to share a Buddies Invite. To pair in person, use the code button to show your Buddies Code and have the other person scan it inside WitnessWork. You can also paste a link through Enter Invite Link. The recipient taps Accept; the person who created the invite then opens Buddies → Requests and taps Confirm. You start seeing each other's plans only after that confirmation. Confirm only the person you intended to invite.

An accepted request waits until the inviter confirms it in Buddies → Requests. Each Buddies Invite works once and expires after seven days; ask for a new link if it was used, cancelled, or expired. Your five spots include buddies and pending invites or requests. Cancel an unused invite or remove a buddy to make room. If making an invite fails because the connection dropped, tap Try Again: if the first invite was made after all, WitnessWork shows that one instead of making another, and it's listed with your pending invites so you can share or cancel it. Only a limited number of unused invite links can be open at once. If tapping an invite link opens a web page instead of WitnessWork, install WitnessWork from the App Store or Google Play and tap the link again, or copy the link and paste it in Buddies → Enter Invite Link. If scanning is unavailable, allow camera access in your device's settings or share and paste the invite link instead.

Buddies always see your name and the days you plan to go out over the next eight weeks, with how long you plan. Your photo (which buddies can tap to see full size), pioneer status, streak, badges, pet (its kind, coat, and name), and your Plans' start times are shared unless you turn them off in Buddies Settings. Badges go without progress, counts, or dates. Under Your Plans, Start times can share the exact time, only the time of day (Morning, Afternoon, or Evening), or no time at all, and Pause sharing hides your plans, streak, badges, and pet from every buddy for a week, a month, or until you turn it back on. Each of these can be different for one buddy: open their page and tap Sharing & Alerts. Buddies aren't told when you change any of this. Calendar sharing never includes your recorded service time, reports, goals, categories, contact list, visit history, or notes. Shared content is end-to-end encrypted so only you and the buddies you choose can read it. WitnessWork's server knows you only by an anonymous account number your device made, never your name, email, or phone number. Explicit Plan and Follow-up invitations share extra details, including a Plan's note (and its photos) or a Follow-up's address; check those details before inviting someone. Find the Privacy Policy under Still need help?, using the support button in this screen's header.

Yes. Open Buddies, tap the menu button, and choose Buddies Settings. Under Your Plans, Start times sets how precisely buddies see when you go out: Exact time, Time of day (Morning before noon, Afternoon until 5 PM, Evening after that), or Don't share. Buddies still see which days you plan and for how long. Pause sharing hides your plans, streak, badges, and pet from every buddy for a week, a month, or until you turn it back on; they still see your name and photo, and new badges aren't announced. While a pause is on, Buddies shows Sharing is paused with a Resume button. A timed pause ends by itself, and your plans return to buddies the next time WitnessWork refreshes Buddies on your device. To stop sharing plans with just one buddy, open their page, tap Sharing & Alerts, and turn off Share my plans; a pause still covers them too. Buddies aren't told about any of these choices, though they may notice your plans are gone. Plan and Follow-up invitations you send still go out while sharing is paused. Your choices apply on all your devices with Buddies. Your photo, pioneer status, streak, badges, and pet each have their own switch under How buddies see you.

Yes. Buddies Settings starts with All Buddies: the settings every buddy follows. To change any of them for one buddy, tap Choose a buddy at the top of Buddies Settings (All Buddies / Choose a buddy) and pick them, or open their page and tap Sharing & Alerts. You can choose, just for them, your photo, pioneer status, streak, badges, pet, whether they see your plans and how precisely start times show, whether their plans show on your calendar, and Ask to Join Alerts and Badge Alerts on this device. A setting that's theirs alone has a highlighted layers icon and an undo arrow beside its name: tap the undo arrow to have them follow All Buddies again, or the undo arrow at the top to do that for all of their settings. Tap the layers icon to see their value and All Buddies', with a checkmark on the one in use. In All Buddies, a setting some buddies have their own value for has a layers icon that lists them; tap a buddy there to open their settings. Tap All Buddies at the top to go back. Undo in the top corner takes back your changes on that screen, newest first. Changing an All Buddies setting changes it for every buddy who follows it, but not for a buddy with their own. Pause sharing is for everyone: while it's on, no buddy sees your plans, streak, badges, or pet, whatever their own settings. Your name always goes to every buddy, and buddies aren't told about any of these choices. Sharing and calendar settings apply on all your devices with Buddies; alerts apply only to the device you set them on.

Use Invite Buddies when adding or editing a Plan or scheduled Follow-up, select confirmed buddies, and save. On a Plan's page, or a conversation's page for a scheduled Follow-up, Invite Buddies invites someone right away. You can also tap Invite to a Plan on a buddy's page. A Plan invite shares its date, time, duration, title, location, and note, with the note's formatting and photos. A Follow-up invite shares its date/time, the householder's first name, address or pin, and topic; those details expire a day after the visit. Check that you want to share these details with the people selected. Follow-up invitations are unavailable in Data Protection Mode. To reply, choose Going or Can't Make It in the notification bell on Home, on the buddy's page in Buddies, or on the invitation's own page (tap it in the bell, on the buddy's page, or on the day in Schedule to open it); you can change your answer later. A Follow-up invitation's page shows when your buddy is going, the householder's first name, the topic, and the place, with directions. An invitation stays in the bell until you answer it, it is canceled, or its Plan or Follow-up has happened, so it can't be dismissed or cleared by mistake; once answered, you can dismiss it. Going to a Plan adds a linked Plan to your schedule, which follows the inviter's changes or cancellation until the Plan happens; after that it stays on your schedule as it was. A buddy's shared Plan stays open to you for a month after it. Can't Make It takes it off your schedule, and switching back to Going on the Plan's page puts it back. If someone stops being your buddy before an invitation reaches them, WitnessWork tells you, and the Plan shows Not sent beside them until it has happened. A Follow-up invite does not import the contact or visit history.

Tap a day on your Schedule calendar, then tap Ask to Join next to a buddy who plans to go out that day. You can also tap one of their days under Next two weeks on their details screen. Your request shares only what you already see: the day, time, and length of their Plan. It shows as Asked until your buddy invites you, you withdraw it, or the Plan starts; tap Asked to withdraw it. Asking closes two hours before the Plan starts, and you can have up to three requests waiting with each buddy. Your buddy is alerted only the first time you ask for a Plan, and for at most three requests a day. If they move or remove that Plan, your request is withdrawn for you. Asked shows only on the device you asked from. When your buddy invites you, answer in the notification bell on Home. If you choose Going while you already have your own Plan at that time, one-time or recurring, you can replace it for that day so your time isn't counted twice. A recurring plan keeps going on your other days.

When a buddy asks to join one of your Plans, their request appears in the notification bell on Home. Tap Invite to add them to your Plan and send the invitation right away; the button turns into a check. Tap the request itself to open the Plan, where Invite works the same way. Tap Not Now (or dismiss it) to clear it quietly: your buddy is never told, and the request lapses when the Plan starts. If the Plan came from someone else's invitation, only its organizer can invite. Inviting someone to one date of a recurring plan turns that date into its own one-time Plan, and the recurring plan stays the same on your other days. If your Plans that day changed since they asked, open the Plan you're keeping to invite them. To stop alerts for every request, turn off Ask to Join Alerts in Buddies Settings. To stop alerts from one buddy, open their page, tap Sharing & Alerts, and turn off Ask to Join Alerts, or long-press their request and choose Turn Off Alerts. With alerts off for everyone, you can turn them on there for one buddy. Requests still appear in the bell either way. Not Now and these settings apply to this device only, so a request you cleared on one device can still show on another.

Buddies notifications say who did what, using the nickname you gave that buddy if you set one: for example, “Anna invited you to a Plan” with its day and time, “Joe can't make it,” “Levi would like to join you,” or “Levi earned a badge” with the badge's name. A Follow-up notification shows only its day and time, never the householder's name, address, or topic, and a Plan notification never shows its title, place, or note. WitnessWork's server never sees these names or details: each notification arrives with your buddy's message still encrypted, and your device opens it and writes the notification itself. Right after your device restarts, before you first unlock it, or when the message can't be read, you get a general notification such as “New invitation” instead; open the notification bell on Home to see who it's from. If notifications never name anyone, update WitnessWork. Notifications can show on your lock screen; to hide what they say until you unlock, change the lock screen settings in your device's notification settings. To choose which Buddies notifications this device gets, use Buddies notifications, Ask to Join Alerts, and Badge Alerts in Buddies Settings, or change them for one buddy under Sharing & Alerts on their page. Everything still appears in the notification bell, and what you read or clear there is read or cleared on your other devices with Buddies too. On Android, Buddies notifications need Google Play services. If they stop arriving, check that notifications are allowed for WitnessWork in your device settings (on Android, including its Buddies and Buddies news categories), then open Buddies to refresh. If they still don't arrive, report the problem from the Help Center without including names or other private details.

Open Buddies and tap a buddy; tap their photo to see it full size. Needs your answer lists their invitations you haven't answered; choose Going or Can't Make It there or in the Home notification bell. Together lists upcoming Plans and Follow-ups between you two, whoever invited whom, with each answer; tap a Plan to open its page, or use the menu on a buddy's invitation to change your answer. Next two weeks shows the days your buddy plans to go out next to your own; tap one of their days to plan the same time or ask to join. Invite to a Plan opens a new Plan with that buddy already invited, and View on Calendar opens Schedule. A nickname is a private name only you see; your buddy isn't told, and clearing it brings back their own name. Supporters can choose a buddy's color from the same swatches as the accent color, or any color with the eyedropper; Default brings back the color given when you paired, which everyone else keeps. Nicknames and colors are kept with your encrypted Buddies data, so they return when Buddies restores on another device. Nickname and color are right under their card, so you see a change as you make it. Sharing & Alerts opens their settings: what they see, whether their plans show on your calendar, and alerts. Their full schedule for the next eight weeks is on your calendar while Show on my calendar is on.

Check that the request has been confirmed and Show on my calendar is on for that buddy. Your buddy may have paused sharing, or stopped sharing plans with you; WitnessWork doesn't say when they do. A buddy who shares only the time of day or no start time shows Morning, Afternoon, Evening, or Planned in place of a time. Calendar sharing covers only the next eight weeks. Both people need an internet connection to send and receive changes; open Buddies and pull down to refresh. Previously downloaded plans remain viewable offline, but new changes need a connection; Buddies says when you're offline, when it couldn't refresh, or when it can't verify this device. Seeing a buddy's calendar does not add their plans to yours. Turn on Buddies notifications in Buddies Settings and your device's notification settings, and check the Home notification bell for invitations even if no notification arrived. On Android, Buddies notifications need Google Play services; without them, changes still arrive when you open WitnessWork. The bell checks for new Buddies activity when you open it and when you return to WitnessWork; if it says it couldn't check, reconnect and tap Try Again.

Going is sent to your buddy right away. Can't Make It waits 15 seconds first, in case you tapped it by mistake: tap Change to fix it before it's sent. Leaving the app sends it right away. Not sent yet or Waiting to Send means your answer or Ask to Join request hasn't reached your buddy, usually because you're offline or Buddies is temporarily unavailable. You don't need to answer or ask again: it's saved on this device and sends automatically the next time Buddies refreshes, such as when you open Buddies or return to WitnessWork while connected. While WitnessWork is open, it tries once more on its own shortly after. To send it sooner, reconnect and tap Try Again beside Your answer on the Plan or Follow-up, or open Buddies and pull down to refresh. Your buddy won't see the answer or request until it's sent.

Open a buddy's page, tap Sharing & Alerts, and turn off Show on my calendar to hide their plans on your calendar on all your devices with Buddies; sharing continues, and your own Plans with them still show. Remove Buddy ends the connection for both people, and reconnecting takes a new invite. They are not notified, though they may notice. If removal is pending while offline, they may still see your last shared plans until WitnessWork reconnects and completes it. Buddies Settings → Delete My Buddies Data removes all connections and invites and erases your encrypted Buddies data and encryption identity. It cannot be undone; reconnect and retry if deletion is pending. Your personal service records and contacts remain.

WitnessWork can turn off Buddies for someone after a report of abuse, such as harassing a buddy. While it's off, Buddies can't sync, send invites, or share Plans. A Plan or Follow-up you invite buddies to then isn't sent, now or later: the app tells you, and the Plan shows Not sent beside them (change it once Buddies is back on to send it). You can still remove buddies and delete your Buddies data (Buddies Settings → Delete My Buddies Data). Your buddies aren't notified. WitnessWork knows you only by an anonymous account number your device made, with no name, email, or phone number, and can't read anything you share with buddies. If you think this is a mistake, contact support under Still need help?, using the support button in this screen's header, and include your app version. If the report was wrong, we turn Buddies back on.

On iPhone and iPad, your Buddies encryption key is kept in iCloud Keychain, so your buddies follow you to your other devices signed in to the same Apple Account with iCloud Keychain on (Passwords, in iCloud settings), and come back after you reinstall WitnessWork. With sync on, Buddies starts by itself on your other devices once they sync: your buddies, your answers to invitations, the notifications you've read or cleared, and the nicknames and colors you chose show on each one, and each device gets Buddies notifications (choose which in Buddies Settings on that device). Without sync, open Buddies on the other device and pull down to refresh. Each device then shares the plans it has, so turn on sync to keep what your buddies see the same. Your buddies see one name for you from all your devices: the one you last changed in Profile on a device using Buddies. Buddies Settings shows it under How buddies see you. On Android, Google Play services keeps the key: it comes back when you reinstall WitnessWork on the same phone while Google backup is on (Settings → Google → Backup), and with a screen lock set it's also saved, end-to-end encrypted, in your Google backup, so it can return when you set up a new phone from that backup. Without a screen lock, the key stays on that phone. Android devices don't share one key the way iCloud Keychain does, so each Android device, and an iPhone and an Android phone, have their own Buddies connections. Regular WitnessWork backup files do not contain the encryption key. If the key is unavailable, or you used Delete My Buddies Data, reconnect with new invites. A device whose key went missing can still delete the Buddies data it kept, or sign in to another account; buddies of the old key keep that connection until they remove it. Keep your personal records backed up separately.