Frequently asked questions
Answers to what residents and organisations often ask: about joining, getting started, safety and costs.
Questions from residents
Then come to the drop-in session at the village hall or community centre. They will help you there.
With the letter for your address, up to five people can create an account.
A neighbourhood buddy is a neighbour who helps as a volunteer: posts a help request for people without a smartphone, helps look for a helper and explains the app. It is informal help, not a replacement for professional care. A village or neighbourhood doesn't have to have neighbourhood buddies: it's possible if there are volunteers.
An ambassador makes Buurtmaat known in the village or neighbourhood. Ambassadors talk about it, hand out leaflets and help new residents get started. In the app they see, per street, which house numbers have not joined yet, without names.
A moderator is a resident who volunteers to help keep Buurtmaat pleasant in the village or neighbourhood. A moderator decides on reports from neighbours and on posts held back by the automatic check, approves polls and can close comments. The administrator chooses who is a moderator. AnchorWorks helps with serious cases. Anyone who reports something stays anonymous, also to the moderator.
Yes. You open Buurtmaat in the browser on your phone or computer. Want it as an app? Then add Buurtmaat to your home screen with a few taps.
No. There are no adverts, there are no like counters and there is no tracking.
Yes. Buurtmaat is available in ten languages: Dutch, English, Turkish, Arabic, Polish, German, French, Spanish, Chinese and Italian. You choose your language in the app under More › My profile. You can also write in your own language. If your village or neighbourhood has the translation package, a neighbour who reads another language taps Translate. Only the text then goes to the language model that translates it, never your name, your address or your account. Are there neighbours' names, addresses, phone numbers or email addresses in the text? Buurtmaat replaces them first, and puts them back after translating. The original always stays visible: tap Show original. You can read more in the privacy statement.
Report it: you stay anonymous. Moderators from your village or neighbourhood look at the report. What your neighbours post publicly is also checked automatically before you see it; anything clearly serious, such as a threat or a scam, then stays hidden. AnchorWorks also keeps an eye on serious cases in all villages and neighbourhoods. If you no longer want to see someone, you can block that person.
Questions from organisations
First use the postcode check to see whether Buurtmaat is already active in your village or neighbourhood. If it isn't, get in touch via info@buurtmaat.nl or WhatsApp. Then we'll discuss the options together.
Yes. The administrator creates a profile for a club, school or foundation, for one or more villages or neighbourhoods. On behalf of that profile they post messages and activities for the whole village or neighbourhood, such as a parade, an open day or a Christmas market. They can also put out a call for help, for example for parent helpers or volunteers. Residents see their profile with what's coming up. Advertising and matters that are only for members don't belong there; a moderator can review posts in advance. Clubs and schools are part of all three packages.
That happens in three layers. An automatic check looks at posts, help requests, listings, activities, items in the sharing cupboard and comments before others see them. If it finds something, such as a threat, a scam, abuse or someone else's address, or if it is unsure, the item stays hidden until a moderator has looked at it. On top of that, residents report anything that isn't right, including comments and private messages. Moderators from the village or neighbourhood itself look at the reports and deal with them. AnchorWorks sees the serious cases in all villages and neighbourhoods, and anything that has been waiting too long for a moderator, and can step in itself: keep something hidden or block an account.
Yes, in Buurtmaat Compleet. Messages from your own app, website or newsletter then appear in Buurtmaat automatically, via an RSS feed or our API (also with Power Automate, Zapier or Make). You choose whether they appear straight away or are approved by an editor first. That way you only keep one place up to date.
Yes. Buurtmaat works per community: a village or a neighbourhood, with its own residents, its own help requests and its own sharing cupboard. A municipality can have villages and neighbourhoods side by side, such as a village on the edge and a few town neighbourhoods. For a neighbourhood, the app says “neighbourhood” and “fellow residents” instead of “village” and “fellow villagers”.
Safety and privacy
Only the members of your own village or neighbourhood. People from other villages or neighbourhoods see nothing of you, and nothing is public on the internet. If the administrator shares the market, you choose per listing whether it appears only in your own village or neighbourhood or in the whole municipality. Only you and the other person can read a private message.
Yes, from a post, a comment or that person's profile. You then no longer see each other's content and can't respond to each other or send each other a private message. Official messages and warnings stay visible. You can lift a block again under More › Blocked.
Buurtmaat only translates what neighbours write if your village or neighbourhood has the translation package. The language model then only receives the text, never your name, your address or your village or neighbourhood. Buurtmaat first replaces phone numbers, addresses and other personal data in the text with a placeholder. You can always see the original.
Packages and costs
No. The organisation that starts Buurtmaat in the village or neighbourhood pays for it. As a resident you pay nothing.
Yes. Request a demo. You get your own demo village with made-up residents and posts, where you can try everything for 14 days, including management.
A paid extra option per village or neighbourhood. With the translation package, Buurtmaat automatically translates what neighbours write, so they can read each other in their own language. The app and the website in ten languages are included in every package.