If your small group, ministry team, or campus fellowship juggles five different apps just to stay coordinated, Flare brings it all under one roof. Built as an all-in-one group communication platform, Flare combines group chats, event calendars, photo albums, attendance tracking, polls, a points system, ticketing, and cross-group connections — so your community can stop app-hopping and start connecting.^1
Flare offers two chat styles: a traditional iMessage-style layout for back-and-forth conversations, and a Facebook Wall-style announcement feed that reduces notification fatigue in larger groups.^1 Events come with built-in RSVPs (including "Maybe" and "Can't Go" options), QR-code check-in, geolocation-based attendance.^2 Photos upload at full resolution (up to 5000×5000px), making it easy to preserve memories from retreats, service projects, or fellowship gatherings.^3
Privacy features stand out — admins can disable screenshots, suspend members, delete messages, and require message approval before posts go live.^1 Every group and event is private by default and can't be searched within the app.^2 Recent updates introduced emergency check-in alerts that break through Do Not Disturb, hours-based points tracking with geofencing for study and service hours, payment-based points for dues and donations, Venmo integration, FlareCam, a disposable-camera-style photo feature for events,^9 and Group Connections, which lets groups establish links with one another to easily co-host events and invite members across organizations.^2^3
Founded by Jack Chen while studying at Brown University, Flare began as a solo project built over three years in his bedroom. After launching in 2021, Chen traveled the country in rented U-Haul trucks, sleeping in them and pitching the app door-to-door at student organizations. Co-founder Daniel Breyer, an early investor in Headspace and Grammarly, believed in the vision early on.^4 Today Flare serves over 500,000 users across 5,000+ groups and 500+ colleges.^1
Why Users Love It"Instead of needing 10,000 apps for everything we need including group chats, announcements, pictures — all of our needs were united in Flare. It's truly thoughtfully designed."^2
"The transition to Flare has been so easy because of the help of Jack and his colleagues! All of our members/officers have enjoyed using Flare." — Texas A&M University Kappa Alpha Theta Executive Board^2
"We will be using the Flare app this fall semester for our volunteers... having students complete the research really saved our staff an incredible amount of time and work." — Jasmine Hassan, CWJC Executive Director^5
Notable- Adopted by Christian Women's Job Corps Nacogdoches for volunteer coordination after SFA business students tested and recommended it^5
- Also used by Rotary Interact Clubs spanning ages 12–70 for RSVPs and points tracking at every meeting^2
- Campus ambassador activity continues, including a University of Hartford student who announced an ambassador role in September 2025^6
- Closed first funding round in 2022 from investors who backed Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Spotify^4
- Free to download on iOS and Android^2^3
