A koko is tied to a real place
You leave it where you are, and it stays connected to that place.
User Guide
How to Use Koko
This guide is for anyone using Koko for the first time or coming back to it later. It covers the core flow: set up permissions, leave a koko where you are, and understand how messages appear when someone arrives.
Place-based messages
For yourself, friends, or nearby people
Arrival alerts with permission
Quick Start
Start Here
Use this checklist if you want the shortest path to using Koko.
- Download Koko Messages on the iOS AppStore and open the app.
- Allow location access so Koko can show nearby kokos and support place-based messages.
- Create a free account.
- Create your first koko.
- See your koko when you return or anytime from your profile.
How It Works
What a Koko Is
Koko is built around messages that belong to places, not messages sent from anywhere.
It can be for different audiences
A koko can be for yourself, for friends, or for anyone nearby.
It appears on arrival
The message appears when the right person gets close enough to the place you chose.
Real presence matters
Koko is designed around being there, not remote dropping from somewhere else.
Leave a Koko
How to Leave a Message at a Place
Leaving a koko is easy: be there, write it, set how close someone should be before it appears, choose who it is for and drop it.
Use this when you want to leave something for your future self at a place you expect to return to.
Use this when you want the message to wait for specific people instead of everyone nearby.
Use this when you want to leave something public, helpful, or discoverable at a place.
Receive a Koko
How a Koko Appears
Kokos are meant to show up when someone reaches the place and enters the viewing range that was chosen.
What to expect
When you get close enough to a koko that is meant for you or available nearby, it will appears when you open the app.
If notifications are enabled, Koko can notify you upon arrival when there is a koko waiting for you, even if the app is not currently open.
If a koko has not appeared yet, it usually means you are not close enough yet, the intended audience does not include you, or notifications are disabled and you have not opened the app at the right place.
Your Kokos
Revisit What You Left Behind
Your own kokos remain connected to the places where you created them, and you can revisit them later from your profile.
Your personal record of places
Even when you are no longer at the location, your own kokos can still serve as a record of messages, memories, and reminders tied to where they happened.
This is useful for remembering places you want to return to, notes you left for yourself, or messages you created for other people.
Privacy & Permissions
How Location Is Used
Koko relies on location for nearby discovery and arrival-based behavior, but the app is not built around live location sharing.
FAQ
Common Questions
Here are a few frequently asked questions we've heard.
Why can't I leave a Koko from somewhere else?
Koko is designed around real presence. You leave a koko from the place where you are so the message stays tied to that location.
Why didn't a koko appear yet?
You may not be close enough yet, the koko may not be intended for you, or you may need to open the app at the location.
Why am I not getting notifications?
Arrival alerts depend on notification permission being enabled. If notifications are off, the koko may still appear when you open the app at the right place.
Who can see my koko?
That depends on how you created it. A koko can be for yourself, for friends, or for anyone nearby.
Want the App?
Use the guide, then try it in a real place.
Download Koko, enable the permissions you want, and leave your first place-based message.