Frequently asked questions

ICmatch works in any phone browser, and the pages are designed to fit phone screens. You can also add a home-screen icon that looks just like other app icons and opens the site directly.

• iPhone: in Safari, go to icmatch.org, tap the Share button (the square with an up arrow), scroll down, tap “Add to Home Screen,” then “Add.”
• Android (Chrome): go to icmatch.org, tap the menu (⋮), then “Add to Home screen.”
• Samsung Internet: go to icmatch.org, tap the menu icon, tap “Add page to,” then “Home screen.”

Each of these registrations is free. Member registration must be completed before you can create a group.

• Become a member: create your profile with your email (or Google), then go to “My account → Questions” to answer the questions that power matching.
• Create a founders’ group: once you’re a member, go to Team Up and click “Create a founders’ group.”
• List yourself as a consultant: join the consultant list. New listings are reviewed before they appear.

Potential standardized wording for this section, to offer multiple choice options about intentional community diversity, was discussed at length with a DEI consultant. The diversity section is write-in because different generations and different political groups often have specific language preferences. For example, the younger often embrace “queer” as an identity, while many older prefer the term LGBTQ+.

Here’s how we made these issues searchable for those who value intentional community diversity:

• The question “IC types I would live in or am forming” includes Medical risk bubble, Shelter for homeless, and Housing or shelter for a vulnerable group.
• The keyword search on the Match for Free page searches everyone’s write-in answers, so you can look for specific accommodations or identities. It’s free.
• On the Team Up page, a keyword search finds forming groups that name a focus in their description.

Go to “My account → Settings”.

• Hide your profile: click “Hide my profile.” You’ll no longer appear in searches, matches, or on community-type pages. Come back to the same place and click “Make my profile visible” to return.
• Delete your profile: at the bottom of the Settings page, “Delete profile” permanently removes your profile, answers, and messages. This can’t be undone.

See this map to identify U.S. regions. Every U.S. state is also listed on its own. East Asia includes China, Japan, Mongolia, Korea. You might be interested in the ecovillages page that has a Resources section with links to international ecovillages.

Each community-type page (tiny homes, ecovillages, retreat centers and more) has a “Featured members” section and a “Featured consultants” section. People exploring that kind of community see those profiles first.

To feature your profile, go to “My account → Listings” and choose the community types you’re most interested in. Featuring is free while the new site launches.

Your profile stays searchable on Match for Free either way. Featuring simply gives you extra visibility with the people most interested in the same kind of community.

Other members will not see your email address or user name. For privacy, use a display name that you don’t use on other platforms, and not your real name. Communication with others can stay on the platform until you feel it’s safe to give out your contact information or meet up with people. All the profile questions you answer will be visible. Only registered users will be able to chat with you. Some people investigating the site will only make the effort to join because they see profiles of compatible members. While answering profile questions reveals a lot of information about you, only you can tell others the identity behind that profile description.

Matches come from your answers, so the more questions you answer, the better ICmatch can find people who fit.

1. Go to “My account → Questions” and answer the questions in each category. Your profile completeness is shown there, so you can see what’s left.
2. Open “Matches” to see members ranked by compatibility (0–100). Each match explains what you align on and where you differ.
3. Any dealbreakers you set can rule a match out entirely, and distance only matters as much as you say it does.

Still not matching? You might consider being more open about what traits or situations you will accept. Yet it’s best to stay consistent with what you actually prefer and believe. You’ll only set yourself up for frustration—and eventually annoy others—if you try to present yourself in a way you think others would be impressed by, but doesn’t match how you typically are. We’re consistently marketing to bring in more members, so give it time! Meanwhile, use the search on Match for Free to see who looks interesting.

New messages show up right away under the bell icon at the top of the page and in your Chat list.

You can also get an email when a new message or a new match arrives. Turn each of these on or off any time under “My account → Settings → Email notifications”.

While logged in, open the member’s profile (from a search, your Matches, or a community-type page) and click “Message”. The conversation then appears in your “Chat” list, where you can continue it any time.

You don’t need to share an email address or phone number to chat. Keep the conversation on ICmatch until you feel comfortable sharing contact details.

If you or the other member changes a response to a matching question, this prompts the backend to look for matches. If your prior responses and new responses both were a match, then you’ll have matched up twice. This function could be helpful if someone you previously didn’t match becomes a new match when one of you changes your responses.

Chat messages are deleted after 6 months. The conversation stays in your Chat list with the other member’s name and image, so you can pick it up again, but the older messages are gone. Please copy and save any that are important to you. We keep only what’s needed rather than letting data pile up forever.

Not only do we insist on ICmatch being a place where communication is respectful, we help you find the right words. Below the message box in any chat you’ll find three “pre-fab responses”. Tap one to fill in the message, edit it if you like, then send:

• Invitation to check back later: I don’t currently have the capacity to look over your profile and respond promptly. If I don’t get back to you within a month, feel free to check back if you’re still interested in chatting.
• Polite decline: I’ve taken a look at your profile and I don’t see that we have enough compatibility in the areas that are most important for me right now. I’ll contact you if that changes. Good luck in your search.
• Polite decline and block: I’m convinced that we don’t have a level of compatibility that would work for me. I won’t be responding further. Good luck in your search. (Sending this one also blocks the member, so neither of you can message the other again.)

ICmatch doesn’t want to police the chats, but we do want all members to feel respected. We request the following:

• Please do not write to others to give them feedback or criticism about their profile answers unless they ask for your comments. Do not offer unsolicited feedback even if you feel your critique is important. Do not offer unsolicited feedback even if you intend to state it kindly. Do not offer criticisms in the form of questions, for example, “Why would you believe it is appropriate to…?”
• If you find a chat comment irritating or immature, we ask that instead of seeing it as a teachable moment, you simply disengage.
• If you feel a comment shows a clear intent to insult or offend, open that member’s profile and click “Report”. Describe what happened and include the wording. If members report hostile or goading comments or questions in the chats or profile responses, this will result in a warning. Second or third offenses may cause membership to be paused or revoked.
• There is no obligation to respond to any questions in chats, unless you are a group coordinator and others inquire about joining. We’ve made it easy to politely decline: use the “pre-fab responses” below the message box, or click “Block” on the member’s profile. See “What do the chat pre-fab responses say?”

Nope. Doing a background check would mean we would have more information about members than some want to give. We do want to hear from you if you have a scary experience with a member or if a group situation sounds exploitative.

We get it. There’s a lot of personal information in the profile. That’s why we invite you to create a memoji instead of posting a photo. We also ask you not to use your real name as a display name, but it’s up to you. The chat function on the website allows you to communicate without sharing your contact information until you feel comfortable. See our Privacy Policy.

Search and matching on ICmatch are free, and they’ll stay that way. In the ethos of the sharing economy, we feel it’s important to buck the trend of monetizing everything. ICmatch is not built to be sold and shifted into a profit-maker.

The site’s modest running costs are covered by founder services: Ardell works directly with founders who want focused help finding the right people (Work with Ardell). Read more in our vision and mission.

ICmatch doesn’t take payments right now: search, matching, chat, and featured listings are all free.

If paid extras return in the future, payments will be handled by Stripe, a PCI-compliant payment processor. Your card details would go straight to Stripe and never be stored on ICmatch.