Frequently Asked Questions

Sending Notes

What kinds of things do people normally send?

Of course, you can send loads of things, but what kind of stuff might you actually want to do? People often send links to funny things they've seen or links to great articles they've read online and want to share. People send image files to each other or document files they made for work. It's common to send invitations to upcoming events — say you're having a dinner party or going out to see a film with some friends. That'll get you started, but feel free to get creative with the stuff you send.

Who can see the notes I've sent?

One of the cool things with Pownce is that only the people you send something to can see it. It's kind of like sending an email that way. So, if you send a note to five friends, only those five friends can see it. If you send something to "the Public" it's (as you guessed) going to be available to the public at large.

How do I send something to more than one person?

Check out the 'Sets' feature in the left column of your home. It lets you create a set of people to send things to. Say you created a "Colleagues" set and put your workmates in it... you could easily send notes to just those people. Sweet.

How can I send more than one file?

Check out the little link under the file option when you're sending a new note. It explains how to create a ZIP file that holds a bunch of other files inside it. Super handy.

What types of files can I send?

You can send just about any type of file. The only real restriction is the size of the file. With a normal account you can send pretty big files and with a Pro account you can send really big (but not huge files). See the file upload area for the exact file sizes.

How can I make images and video appear in my notes?

Post a link to a video or photo on a popular video or photo sharing site (such as YouTube or Flickr) and a thumbnail will appear in the note. Alternately, you can post a link ending in .jpg, .png, or .gif and a thumbnail will appear. Photos that are sent as files will also display a thumbnail. Sometimes Pownce cannot process a certain type of image and in this case, no thumbnail will appear.

Friends & Fans

What's the difference between a friend and a fan?

A friend is someone you have a mutual connection with. So, that person requested to be your friend and you accepted it. Only people who are your friends can send you notes directly. A fan is someone who likes what you post and wants to keep track of anything you post publicly. A fan can ONLY see notes you posted to the public.

How do I become someone's friend?

It's easy. Search for the person by clicking on the "Add Friends" link on your home. Ask your friend to confirm your friendship by adding them (note: you're only truly friends once the other person had confirmed the connection).

Why is someone a fan of mine?

Fans usually like things you post. All a fan means is that they'll get notified when you make a public post. Note, a fan cannot read any post you make that is not explicity intended for the public.

What do I do with a stranger who wants to be my friend?

You're under no obligation to friend people. Just say no and that person will remain a fan. They won't get an email saying they've been rejected, so hopefully they won't be offended! If someone is being persistent or if you think they're soliciting for something, click the block button to report them and they won't be able to request your friendship again.

How do I stop getting notifications from Pownce?

By default, you're a fan of the Pownce Notifications account. We use this on occasion to let people know what's going on. Don't want 'em? No worries. Just go to the Pownce member and cancel.

My Account

What parts of my account can other people see?

You can easily hide a lot of your information from other people by using your settings. Don't want your location displayed? Hide it. If you're unsure what the public can see, click on the link to your public profile from your home page and you'll get a replica of what they see.

How do I stop emails from being sent to me?

In your settings you can control what kinds of email we send you. It's under the 'Notifications' section. You can easily disable all emails if you prefer.

How do I remove my account?

You can delete your account in your Settings. Login to your account first, then go into your settings and follow the instructions there. Sorry to see you go!

Can I change my username?

The simple answer is no, you can't change your username at this time.

I paid for a pro account, why don't I see a badge on my profile?

There have been some problems with people not being credited for their pro payments. If you think this happened to you, please email us with your Pownce username and your PayPal receipt and we'll take care of it asap. Thanks so much for purchasing a pro account and sorry for the trouble!

Website and Application

I found a bug in your software, what should I do?

Please send us an email about it. If you could include what browser you're using, what version of the browser it is, your operating system, and as many other pertinent details as possible, you will make us very very happy. Thanks so much for your help!

I have a great idea about how to improve the site, who do I tell?

Try the Satisfaction community forum or send us an email explaining your idea. We love to hear about how you'd like to see things improved. However, keep in mind that we can't implement every idea and some ideas take a long time to build... so please be patient with us!

I can't get the Adobe AIR application to work, who should I tell?

Unfortunately, some people have been having trouble installing AIR or the application software. The AIR software is still in beta (which means they're still testing it) so there's not much we or you and do the fix it. When Adobe releases an update, hopefully some of these problems will get cleared up. We know it's frustrating, but that's the deal. Ergh.