Frequently Asked Questions

ChalPals is an accountability web app where friends create challenges to stay on track with their goals. Participants check in by uploading a photo as proof. Those who miss check-ins accumulate penalties, and the total penalty pot is split at the end of the challenge among participants who completed all check-ins. Challenges with payments enabled charge real money via Stripe — challenges without payments enabled track penalties for accountability purposes only.

• Sign up with your name, email, and password.
• Create your own challenge and share the link with friends.
• Browse and join public challenges on the Discover page.
• Accept a challenge invitation directly from your dashboard.
• Or follow a challenge invite link from a friend.

On any upcoming challenge card on your dashboard, tap the ··· menu and select Invite. A tray will open where you can:

• Invite past challengers directly by tapping the Invite button next to their name.
• Invite anyone — including people who aren't on ChalPals yet — by entering their email address and tapping Send.

Only the challenge creator can send invites, and invites can only be sent before the challenge starts.

Yes. Enter their email address in the invite tray and tap Send. They'll receive an email with a link to the challenge. If they sign up for ChalPals before the join window closes, the invitation will appear automatically on their dashboard so they can accept or decline.

When you're invited to a challenge, it appears at the top of your dashboard with the challenge details — name, description, start date, duration, frequency, and penalty. Tap Accept to join or Decline to pass.

Accepting is subject to the same rules as joining normally: the join window must be open, the challenge must not be full, and a payment method is required for paid challenges. Declining does not prevent you from joining via a share link before the window closes.

Yes. Open the invite tray from the ··· menu and tap Remind next to anyone who has already been invited but hasn't joined yet. This resends the invite email and push notification. Reminders are rate-limited to once every 24 hours per person.

Yes — if you have a pending invitation and haven't joined yet, ChalPals automatically sends one reminder email and push notification approximately 24 hours before the challenge is scheduled to start. This is in addition to any manual reminders the creator may send.

Yes. When you invite someone who is new to ChalPals — either by entering their email or by sharing a challenge link — and they sign up and join their first challenge, it counts as a referral for you. Your total referrals appear on your stats page, and reaching milestones unlocks referral trophies (Recruiter, Connector, and Ambassador). Referrals are a recognition feature only and have no cash value; we may void referrals that appear fraudulent.

• Daily challenges run from 1 to 100 days. Weekly and custom-frequency challenges run from 1 to 12 weeks.
• Check-in frequency (daily, weekly, or a custom number of times per week) is set when the challenge is created.
• You may optionally attach up to 3 photos or 1 video to a check-in as proof. Check-ins without media are also accepted.
• If you miss a check-in, you are charged the penalty amount chosen by the challenge creator.
• At the end, the penalty pot is divided among participants who complete all check-ins.

• Private challenges can only be joined via an invite link shared by the creator.
• Public challenges appear on the Discover page and anyone can join, up to the maximum participant limit set by the creator.
• The creator can change visibility when editing a challenge before it starts.

Yes — you can join on the first day of a challenge up until 6 PM Eastern Time (ET). After 6 PM on day 1, or on any day after that, the challenge can no longer be joined.

If you join on day 1, that day is part of your challenge and you are responsible for checking in — no exceptions.

• Before the challenge starts, the creator can edit the challenge name, expectations, and visibility.
• The creator can also enable or disable payments from the ··· menu on the upcoming challenge card.
• Duration, start date, check-in frequency, and penalty cannot be changed once the challenge is created.
• Challenges cannot be edited after they start — with one exception: the creator can propose extending an active challenge's end date if every active participant approves (see “Can a challenge be extended?” below).

For daily challenges, you can check in once per day toward your required check-in.

For weekly and “you choose” challenges, you can check in once per day toward your weekly quota. On any challenge, once you've completed a day's check-in you can optionally submit one bonus check-in that same day — these are private (visible only to you and the challenge creator) and do not affect your challenge results or standing.

No, you must check in on the correct day before 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET).

• You automatically forfeit the penalty amount per missed check-in.
• Weekly and You Choose challenge misses are calculated at the end of each week.
• You will no longer be eligible to receive a portion of the total penalty payout.

Missed check-ins cannot be removed. Make sure to check in before 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET) each day.

The penalty per missed check-in is set by the challenge creator, up to a maximum of $10 per miss.

Example:

• A daily challenge with 5 missed check-ins and a $5 penalty = $25 penalty.
• A weekly challenge (3 check-ins required and a $3 penalty) where you only check in once = $6 penalty.

Payments are live for challenges where the creator has enabled them. When a challenge has payments enabled, a valid payment method (credit or debit card) is required to join. Unsuccessful participants are charged via Stripe at the end of the challenge. Challenges without payments enabled track penalties for accountability purposes only — no money is collected or distributed.

Your card is not charged when you join. Charges only occur at the end of the challenge if you missed check-ins. Successful participants are never charged — they receive a share of the penalty pot instead.

Collected penalties form the pot. ChalPals keeps a 15% platform fee, and the remaining 85% is split evenly among participants who completed the challenge without missing any check-ins. If no one missed a check-in, there is no pot to distribute.

If nobody completes the challenge — or if you are the only participant and give up — there are no winners to pay out. In that case the collected penalties are retained by ChalPals and are not refunded.

Yes. For challenges with payments enabled, ChalPals keeps a 15% fee from the total penalty pot to operate the service and cover payment processing. Winners split the remaining 85%. For example, a $20 pot with a 15% fee leaves $17 to be divided among the winners. The fee and the resulting payout amount are shown on the challenge results.

At the end of a challenge, the total penalty pot is calculated and split among successful participants. Payouts are sent manually by the ChalPals team through a payment app such as Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, or Zelle.

To get paid faster, add your preferred payout handle under How You Get Paid in Settings. Your handles are private — only you, the creator of a challenge you win, and ChalPals admins can see them. Double-check them, since payments sent to a handle you provide can't be reversed.

If your card is declined or expired at the end of a challenge, you'll receive an email with instructions to update your payment method in Settings. Until the outstanding balance is resolved, you won't be able to join other paid challenges.

Reply to the payment failure email or contact support and we'll retry the charge once your card is updated.

If you have an outstanding balance from a previous challenge — for example, a failed end-of-challenge charge — you won't be able to join new paid challenges until it's resolved. Check your email for a payment failure notice, update your card in Settings, and contact support to retry.

A penalty charge you don't recognize. Penalties are calculated only from your missed check-ins for challenges with payments enabled, at the per-miss amount shown when you joined. If you believe a check-in was counted incorrectly or a charge looks wrong, contact support before disputing with your bank — we can review your check-in history and correct any genuine error faster than a bank dispute, which can lock your account while it's investigated.

Winnings you haven't received. Payouts are sent manually by the ChalPals team and can take a few days after a challenge ends. First make sure your payout handle is set under How You Get Paid in Settings — we can't pay you without one. If it's set and you still haven't been paid after several days, reach out and we'll track it down.

Refunds. Collected penalties fund the pot that's paid out to winners, so once a challenge completes they generally can't be refunded, and the 15% platform fee is non-refundable. If something genuinely went wrong, contact support and we'll make it right.

• If the challenge has not started, you can leave without penalty.
• If the challenge has started, you can give up. Your penalty will be calculated as all past missed check-ins plus all remaining future check-ins, with a 25% surcharge applied to the total. This surcharge is meant to motivate participants to never give up. To give up, tap the ··· icon in the challenge card header and select Give Up.

Yes. The creator can give up just like any other participant — the same penalty rules apply. The challenge continues for everyone else.

After giving up, the creator's card moves to Past Challenges on their dashboard. They still retain the ability to cancel the challenge from the ··· menu if they need to end it for all participants.

• While a challenge is active, the creator can propose extending it by 1–4 weeks from the ··· menu on the challenge card.
• The extension only takes effect once every active participant approves it. A pending proposal appears at the top of the challenge card with an Approve option and a running tally of who still needs to respond.
• If anyone declines, the proposal is cancelled and the challenge keeps its original end date. Proposals also expire automatically after 48 hours, or when the challenge would have ended, whichever comes first.
• Extensions are only available for active challenges without payments enabled. Upcoming (not-yet-started) and paid challenges can't be extended.

Tap the check-in button on your challenge card. You can check in with no media, attach up to 3 photos, or attach 1 video (MP4 or MOV, up to 25 MB). Your check-in must be submitted before 11:59 PM Eastern Time (ET) to count.

Yes. Media is optional — you can check in without attaching anything. If you do attach media, it should be related to the challenge activity. Vulgar or unrelated content may result in disqualification.

Yes — only the challenge participants can see check-in photos and videos.

Yes. Once you've attached a photo or video, tap Add a caption in the check-in sheet to write a short line about it — up to 140 characters. Captions are optional, and the field only appears after media is attached, since a caption describes what you posted.

Your caption shows with the check-in everywhere it appears: in the photo viewer, in the challenge's activity feed, and at the top of the check-in's comment thread. A caption is your own line on your own check-in — it's different from a comment, which is what others leave in reply.

We are unable to delete uploaded media unless it violates our terms of use. If you believe your upload was a mistake, please contact support.

If you miss a check-in, the penalty is automatically applied and cannot be reversed.

Yes — during an active challenge, you can react to other participants' check-ins and new join events using emoji reactions. You won't see reaction buttons on your own check-ins or join events. You can also tap the ❤️ on someone else's chat message or check-in comment to like it. Reactions are visible to all participants in the challenge.

Yes. Tap the 💬 comment line under any check-in in a challenge's activity feed — or the Comment button when viewing a check-in photo — to open its thread and leave a comment. Comments are visible to everyone in the challenge, and the feed shows a preview of the latest one. If the person who checked in wrote a caption, it sits pinned above the comments — that's theirs, not part of the thread.

You can @mention another participant to notify them, and for up to 15 minutes after posting you can edit or delete your own comment. The challenge creator can remove any comment to keep the thread on track; a removed comment shows a “comment removed” placeholder.

Yes. Go to Settings and tap the circle at the top to upload a photo. It is optional, compressed automatically, and will appear next to your name in the participants list and next to your messages in challenge chat.

Each active or upcoming challenge has a speech bubble icon in the challenge card header. Tap it to open the chat for that challenge. All participants can send and read messages in real time.

The icon turns teal when there are unread messages. It returns to gray once you open the chat. Chat is a great way to coordinate before a challenge starts or cheer each other on during it.

My Notes lets you keep a private journal for any challenge — workouts, thoughts, progress updates, whatever you want to track. Notes are only visible to you and are never shared with other participants, the challenge creator, or shown in the activity feed.

To add a note, tap the ··· menu on any challenge card and select My Notes. You can also view all your notes across every challenge from the My Notes card on your Stats screen.

Only participants in the same challenge can see that challenge's messages. Messages from different challenges are kept separate.

Yes. For up to 15 minutes after sending, you can edit or delete your own messages — open the chat and tap Edit or Delete below your message. Edited messages show an “edited” label, and a deleted message is replaced with a “message removed” placeholder.

The challenge creator can remove any message in their challenge at any time to keep the chat on track.

Yes. Tap Report under any message or comment that isn't your own, or on someone else's check-in photo or video when you open it. Every report is anonymous — the author is never told who reported it.

Reported messages and comments go to the challenge creator and ChalPals admins, who can dismiss the report or remove the content. Reported check-in photos and videos go to ChalPals admins only, since the challenge creator is usually competing in the same challenge.

If an admin removes a check-in photo, the check-in itself still counts. Only the photo or video is deleted — streaks, completion, and any payout are unaffected.

• Email and push notifications can each be turned on or off in Settings.
• Push notifications need to be enabled per device the first time — turn them on in Settings.
• SMS notifications are coming soon.

Under Settings → Notifications, each type has its own on/off switch, so you can keep the ones you want and mute the rest:

• Challenge Reminders (email & push) — daily or weekly check-in nudges.
• Stay on Track (push) — a nudge if you forget to check in.
• Messages & Comments (push) — @mentions in chat or a comment, comments on your check-in, and challenge polls.
• Reactions (push) — when someone reacts to your check-in, comment, or message.
• Created Challenges (email & push) — when someone joins a challenge you created.
• Challenge Activity (email & push) — invite reminders and when a friend you referred joins.
• Challenge Recaps (email & push) — weekly summaries and your results and fun facts when a challenge ends.
• Payouts (email & push) — when your challenge winnings are sent.

Yes. On the dashboard, tap the ··· menu on any active or upcoming challenge and select Mute Reminders or Unmute Reminders. This affects only that challenge.

Yes — for weekly and “you choose” challenges, you receive a weekly digest the morning after each week ends. It shows your check-in count for that week, whether you hit your goal, how your teammates did, and how many weeks are left. It arrives at 7:00 AM Eastern Time.

Yes. In Settings you can turn email and push off entirely with the master switches, or leave them on and mute individual categories (reminders, stay-on-track nudges, messages & comments, reactions, created challenges, activity, recaps, or payouts). An SMS notification toggle will be available when that feature launches.

Bonuses count the extra check-ins you've logged on days you already completed a required check-in — a sign you're going above and beyond. Once you've done a day's check-in, you can add one bonus that same day on any cadence, including daily.

Firsts counts the number of weeks where you were the first person in a challenge to complete your weekly check-in quota. Like Bonuses, Firsts only apply to weekly and “you choose” challenges.

Completion Rate is the percentage of required check-ins you've actually completed across all your challenges. For daily challenges, each day is one required check-in. For weekly and “you choose” challenges, the required count per completed week equals your weekly quota.

A Win is recorded when a challenge ends and you completed all required check-ins without missing any. Your Wins card shows your total wins along with your win rate (wins out of finalized challenges).

Your Best Streak is the longest run of consecutive calendar days you checked in within a single challenge. Any check-in counts — required or bonus — and every cadence counts, so weekly and “you choose” challenges build a streak too whenever you check in on back-to-back days. Streaks are measured per challenge (they don't carry over from one challenge to another), and an active challenge also shows your current ongoing streak on its card.

The Trophy Case on your stats page collects the achievements you've unlocked through your activity — like keeping streaks, finishing challenges, and going above and beyond. Each trophy has a rarity (Common, Rare, Epic, or Legendary) that's worth a different number of points, and those add up to your Trophy Score. Some trophies stay hidden until you unlock them, and you can also collect souvenirs from challenges you've completed. Tap any trophy to see what it takes to earn it and how rare it is among all ChalPals members.

Check your challenge details on the dashboard or contact support.

Contact support with details, and we'll review the case.