Help & User Guide
Everything you need to know about using tripcode.
Getting Started
How do I create an account?
You can sign up for tripcode in several ways:
- Email & password — enter your email and choose a password (minimum 6 characters).
- Google Sign-In — tap the Google button to sign in with your Google account.
- Apple Sign-In — tap the Apple button to sign in with your Apple ID.
- Magic link — enter your email without a password and we will send you a one-time sign-in link.
After signing up with email, you will receive a verification email. Tap the link inside to confirm your account.
What happens during onboarding?
After creating your account you will complete three quick setup steps:
- Travel style — choose the styles that describe you (Backpacker, Comfort, Luxury, Adventure, Cultural, or Relaxation), your pace (Slow & Steady, Balanced, or Action-packed), and experience level.
- Interests — pick at least 3 interests from tags like Hiking, Diving, Photography, Food & Wine, Nightlife, History, and more. These help us match you with trips and travellers.
- Profile — add your name, a short bio, and a profile photo. This is what other travellers see when you apply to trips.
How does email verification work?
After signing up with email, check your inbox for a message from tripcode. Tap the verification link to confirm your account. If you do not see the email, check your spam or junk folder. You can request a new verification email from the sign-in screen.
Discovering Trips
How do I find trips?
The Discover tab is your main feed of available trips. At the top of the screen, tab chips let you switch between views:
- All Trips — every public trip, sorted with the nearest upcoming trips first.
- Featured — trips highlighted by hosts or travel operators.
- My Trips — trips you are hosting and trips you have joined.
- For You — trips matched to your interests and travel style.
- Following — trips from travellers you follow.
- Saved — trips you have bookmarked.
Use the search bar to find trips by destination or title, and apply filters to narrow results by interests or maximum budget.
How does the map view work?
The Map tab shows trips as pins on an interactive map. Pins cluster together when you zoom out and expand when you zoom in. Tap any pin to preview that trip.
You can filter by interests, maximum cost, and status. The Nearby tab uses your location to find trips within a radius you choose (50 km to 1,000 km). A heatmap overlay shows areas with the most trip activity.
How do I apply to join a trip?
Trips have one of two join modes, set by the host:
- Approval mode — tap Apply on the trip or swipe right on its card in the Discover feed. Write a short message to the host explaining why you want to join. The host reviews your application and can approve or reject it. You will receive a notification either way. You can withdraw a pending application at any time.
- Open mode — tap Join or swipe right to instantly join the trip with no application needed.
In both modes, your profile completeness is checked first — make sure your name, bio, travel style, and interests are filled in.
Creating & Managing Trips
How do I create a trip?
Tap the + button to start the 4-step trip creation wizard:
- Step 1 — Essentials: Set a title, destination, start and end dates, budget range, visibility (Public, Private, or Friends Only), and join mode (Approval or Open).
- Step 2 — Participants: Choose min/max group size, gender preference, and age range.
- Step 3 — Style: Pick interests, trip pace, experience level, accommodation type, and language.
- Step 4 — Finishing touches: Upload a cover photo and write a description.
Your draft is auto-saved as you go, so you can close and come back later. You can also start from one of 25+ templates (Hiking Adventure, City Break, Sailing Trip, and many more) to pre-fill common fields, or start from a purchased tripcode to use an experienced traveller's itinerary and preferences as your starting point.
What are the trip statuses?
Every trip follows a lifecycle controlled by the host:
- Planning — the trip is open for applications and being organised.
- Confirmed — the trip is locked in, participants are committed, and bookings are made.
- Completed — the trip has finished. Reviews and photo sharing become the focus.
- Cancelled — the trip was called off by the host.
Can I save trips for later?
Yes. Tap the bookmark icon on any trip card to save it. You can view all your saved trips from the Saved Trips screen, accessible from your profile. Tap the bookmark again to remove a saved trip.
How do I manage trip members as a host?
Open your trip and go to the Members tab. As the host, you see two sections:
- Travellers — confirmed participants. During the Planning phase, you can remove a member by tapping the remove button and providing a reason.
- Applicants — pending applications (only shown for Approval-mode trips). Tap a profile to review it, then approve or reject the application with an optional message.
Trip Features
Chat
How does trip chat work?
Each trip has a real-time group chat for all confirmed participants. You can send text messages and share images directly in the conversation.
Typing indicators show when someone is composing a message. Messages from users you have blocked are automatically hidden. Your chat list on the Chat tab shows all active trip conversations sorted by most recent activity.
Album
How do I share photos in a trip?
Open the Album tab within a trip to view and upload photos. You can upload up to 5 photos at a time, with a maximum of 50 photos per trip.
Add captions to your photos before uploading. View photos in a full-screen swipeable gallery. You can share individual photos or delete your own uploads. The uploader name and date are shown on each photo.
Itinerary
How does itinerary planning work?
The Itinerary tab lets the group plan activities day by day. Add events with a name, time, and category. Built-in categories include:
- Transport, Accommodation, Activity, Food & Drink, Sightseeing, Free Time
You can also create custom categories with your own emoji and colour. Use quick-add templates for common items like Breakfast, Check-in, or Airport Transfer.
Trip members can vote on proposed activities to help the group decide what to do. Events can span multiple days for longer activities.
Expenses
How do I track shared expenses?
The Expenses tab lets you log costs with a description, amount, category, and who paid. Choose from 40+ currencies. Categories include Food & Drink, Transport, Accommodation, Activities, Shopping, and Other.
Split expenses equally among all participants or set custom amounts per person. The app automatically calculates who owes whom and shows a settlement summary so the group can settle up easily.
Reviews
How do reviews work?
After a trip is completed, you can leave a review for each person you travelled with. Rate them 1 to 5 stars and add an optional text comment.
You can leave one review per person per trip. Reviews appear on profiles and contribute to each traveller's average rating, helping build trust in the community.
tripcodes
Browsing & Buying
What are tripcodes?
A tripcode is a ready-made trip template created by an experienced traveller. Each tripcode includes a curated day-by-day itinerary, an expense breakdown, and personal tips from the creator.
Browse tripcodes in the tripcodes tab. Search by destination or interest, and sort by price, rating, or popularity. tripcodes are priced between $2.99 and $99.99.
How do I purchase and use a tripcode?
Tap a tripcode card to preview its destination, duration, creator, and rating. Tap Purchase to buy it through the App Store or Google Play.
Once purchased, you unlock the full itinerary details, expense breakdown, and the creator's personal tips. Tap Use this tripcode to start creating a new trip with all the tripcode data pre-filled. You can then adjust dates, participants, and details to suit your group.
View all your purchased tripcodes from My tripcodes in your profile.
Creating & Selling
How do I create a tripcode?
As a trip host, you can convert any of your trips into a tripcode regardless of its status. Open the trip and tap Publish as tripcode.
The editor pre-fills your trip title, description, destination, and cover photo. You can then:
- Curate the itinerary by toggling individual items on or off.
- Add per-item tips (e.g. “book the sunrise slot, it's less crowded”).
- Add general tips and advice — best time to visit, packing suggestions, budget advice, local customs.
Set your price between $2.99 and $99.99. The app suggests a recommended price based on your itinerary length, trip duration, and ratings. Save as a draft or publish immediately. You can edit and republish at any time.
How does the creator dashboard work?
The Creator Dashboard (requires tripcode Premium) shows your total earnings, total sales, number of published tripcodes, and average rating.
Each tripcode lists its status (draft or published), sale count, and rating. The dashboard also shows your recent payouts and their status.
You earn 80% of each sale. tripcode retains a 20% platform fee.
How do tripcode reviews work?
After purchasing a tripcode, you can leave a review with a 1-to-5-star rating and an optional comment. Reviews appear on the tripcode detail page and contribute to its average rating.
You can leave one review per tripcode. Reviews help other travellers decide which tripcodes to buy.
Profile & Social
How do I edit my profile?
Go to the Profile tab and tap Edit. You can update your name, bio, profile photo, travel styles, travel pace, experience level, and interests.
A completeness indicator shows how much of your profile is filled in. A complete profile — with photo, bio, travel style, and interests — helps you get accepted to more trips.
What are badges?
Badges are earned automatically based on your activity:
- First Trip — complete your first trip.
- Explorer — complete 5 trips.
- Seasoned Traveller — complete 10 trips.
- Globetrotter — complete 25 trips.
- Reviewed — receive your first review.
- Top Rated — receive 10 or more reviews.
- Host — host your first trip.
- Super Host — host 5 or more trips.
Badges are displayed on your profile for other travellers to see.
Separately, creators who publish tripcodes may display a tripcode verified badge on their tripcode listings, indicating that their profile and trip history have been reviewed.
How do I find and follow other travellers?
The People tab lets you discover other travellers. Each profile card shows an interest match percentage based on shared interests. You can search by name or filter by travel style and experience level.
Tap Follow to stay updated on a traveller's trips. View your followers and following lists from your profile.
Settings & Safety
What notifications will I receive?
tripcode can send push notifications for:
- New chat messages in your trips
- Photos uploaded to a trip album
- Reviews received from other travellers
- Trip application updates (approved or rejected)
- Trip status changes (confirmed, completed, cancelled)
You can enable or disable each notification type individually in Settings.
How do I change my password?
Go to Settings and tap Change password. Enter your current password and your new password. If you signed in with Google or Apple, you do not have a tripcode password to change.
How do I change the app appearance?
Go to Settings. The Appearance section at the top lets you customise two options:
- Theme — choose between Default (tripcode brand colours) or Mono (a monochrome palette).
- Mode — choose System (follows your device setting), Light, or Dark.
How do I delete my account?
Go to Settings and tap Delete account. You will be asked to type DELETE to confirm. This permanently removes your profile, trip history, and all associated data. This action cannot be undone.
How do I block or report a user?
Open any user's profile and tap the menu icon to see Block and Report options.
Blocking hides their content from you and yours from them. They will not be notified.
Reporting lets you flag a user for inappropriate behaviour, spam, harassment, or a fake profile. Our team reviews all reports.
Content removal
How can I have a trip cover image removed from tripcode.io?
If you are the host of the trip, you can disable featuring at any time by editing the trip in the app and unticking Feature this trip on tripcode.io. The trip will be removed from the public marketing page on the next deploy.
If you are not the host — for example, if you are someone identifiable in a cover image and want it removed — every card on tripcode.io has a small Request removal link directly underneath it. Tapping it opens an email pre-filled with the information we need to locate the trip; just add a short reason and send.
If the link doesn't work for you, email hello@tripcode.io directly with the trip title, destination, and dates (a screenshot also helps), plus a short reason for the removal request.
How quickly will you action a removal request?
We action genuine removal requests within a reasonable timeframe. The marketing page is rebuilt on every merge to master, so once we update the trip's record the cover image will fall out of the public site on the next deploy. We will reply to your email when the change has been queued.
What about cached copies on Google or the Internet Archive?
Once we remove the image from tripcode.io, search engines and archive services may still hold cached or archived copies for a period. We can purge our own CDN cache, but we cannot remove copies held by third parties. If you need a cached or archived copy removed elsewhere, you will need to contact those services directly:
- Google search results: use Google's Remove outdated content tool.
- Internet Archive (Wayback Machine): email info@archive.org to request exclusion.
What information helps us action a removal faster?
- Trip title, destination, and dates (the Request removal mailto on each card pre-fills these).
- A screenshot of the card you are asking us to remove.
- A short reason — for example, "I am one of the people in this photo and did not agree to its display."
You do not need to provide identification to make a removal request.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is tripcode free to use?
The core tripcode experience is free. Creating an account, browsing trips, joining trips, chatting, sharing photos, planning itineraries, tracking expenses, and leaving reviews all cost nothing.
tripcode also offers optional paid features:
- tripcode Premium — a subscription ($4.99/month or $39.99/year) that unlocks advanced discovery filters, full participant lists, and the creator dashboard.
- tripcodes — ready-made trip templates created by experienced travellers, priced between $2.99 and $99.99 each.
Neither is required to use tripcode. All trip planning and social features remain free.
What platforms is tripcode available on?
tripcode is available on iOS and Android.
Do I need to complete my profile before joining a trip?
You can browse trips without a complete profile, but hosts are more likely to accept applications from travellers with a filled-out profile. If your profile is less than 75% complete, you will see a warning when applying. We recommend adding a photo, bio, travel style, and interests.
Can I create a private trip for friends only?
Yes. When creating a trip, choose one of four visibility options:
- Public — visible to everyone on the Discover feed.
- Private — only you can see the trip. Share the link directly with people you want to invite.
- Friends Only — visible only to mutual followers.
- Featured — highlighted at the top of the Discover feed (available to travel operators).
How many people can join a trip?
The host sets a minimum and maximum participant count when creating a trip. Group sizes can range from 1 to 6 travellers, depending on what the host chooses.
Can I leave a trip after joining?
Yes. Open the trip and tap Leave trip. You will be removed from the participant list and will no longer have access to the trip chat, itinerary, or expenses. The host will be notified.
Does tripcode handle payments or bookings?
tripcode does not process payments or make bookings for your trip logistics — accommodation, flights, and activity bookings are arranged by the group outside the app. The expense tracker helps you log and split costs, but actual settlements are between travellers directly.
tripcode does process payments for two in-app purchases: tripcode purchases and Premium subscriptions. These are handled securely through the App Store (Apple) and Google Play Store. tripcode never stores your payment card details.
Can I use tripcode offline?
tripcode requires an internet connection for most features including chat, trip discovery, and photo uploads. However, trip creation drafts are saved locally and will sync when you reconnect.
How is my data protected?
All data is transmitted over encrypted connections (HTTPS) and stored securely. Row-level security ensures you can only access data you are authorised to see. For full details, read our Privacy Policy.
Who can see my profile?
Your profile is visible to other tripcode users. This includes your name, bio, travel style, interests, badges, and public reviews. Your email address is never shown to other users.
What are tripcodes?
tripcodes are ready-made trip templates published by experienced travellers. Each one includes a curated itinerary, an expense breakdown, and personal tips. You can browse them in the tripcodes tab, purchase one, and use it to create a new trip with all the details pre-filled. See the tripcodes section above for full details.
What is tripcode Premium?
tripcode Premium is an optional subscription ($4.99/month or $39.99/year) that unlocks advanced discovery filters, full participant lists, and the creator dashboard for tripcode sales. See the tripcode Premium section above for details.
How do I earn money as a creator?
As a trip host, you can publish any of your trips as a tripcode on the marketplace. Set a price between $2.99 and $99.99. When someone purchases your tripcode, you earn 80% of the sale price — tripcode retains a 20% platform fee. Track your earnings, sales, and payouts in the Creator Dashboard (requires tripcode Premium). See the tripcodes section for the full creator flow.
Contact & Support
Can't find what you're looking for?
Send us a message at hello@tripcode.io or use our feedback form.