Reaching people in another Village
Usually, to reach people outside your own group, you have to sign everyone up to the same big app. There is another way.
The usual way
Everyone has to join the same big service. Your information travels through a company's system, and that company decides who can talk to whom, and what they can see.
The Village way
Each Village stays in charge of itself. Two Villages simply agree to connect. Your information stays in your Village, and either side can end the connection whenever they like.
Connecting doesn't mean giving anything up. You can reach across to another community and still keep full say over your own information and how your Village is run.
What connecting two Villages means
It's a simple agreement between two Villages to let their members reach each other, safely.
In plain terms
Two Villages agree to connect so their members can do certain things together — like make a video call — while each Village stays fully independent and keeps its own information and its own way of doing things.
A few things are always true:
Both sides say yes
A connection is always between two Villages, and both have to agree to it. No one else decides for them.
Clear terms
The agreement spells out what's switched on, what's shared, and how either side can step away. Nothing is left vague.
You stay in charge
Your Village's information, its members, and the way it's run all stay entirely in your hands.
Connecting isn't about building one big network. It's about letting communities reach each other while each one stays its own.
Your Village can connect with several others if it wants to. Each connection stands on its own. There's no big shared network you have to join.
How a connection is set up Building
From first ask to a working connection, in four steps.
Someone asks
An organiser in one Village asks to connect with another. They say what they'd like to switch on — such as video calls or letting members find each other — and share how their Village is run.
The other Village takes a look
The second Village sees who's asking, how that Village runs itself, and what's being requested. They can check the Village is real before deciding.
Both agree
The second Village says yes or no. Both Villages have to agree — no one can be forced into a connection.
It's live
Once both have agreed, members of either Village can use whatever was switched on. Each person still chooses whether to take part.
What's in the agreement
- What's switched on: Video calls between Villages, and letting members find each other through contact cards.
- Shared values: Privacy first, everything by choice, your information stays yours, and mutual respect.
- Leaving: A short notice period (seven days by default) and a clear rule for what happens to any shared information when a connection ends.
- Anything else: Any extra points both Villages want to agree on.
Pausing or ending a connection
Either Village can pause a connection at any time. Pausing switches off the shared features straight away but keeps the agreement, so it's easy to pick up again later. Ending it closes the connection for good.
Example: pausing while things settle
If the other Village is sorting out a disagreement of its own, you might pause the connection until they've settled it. When they have, you can switch it back on without starting over.
The way out is always open. Either Village can pause straight away or end the connection with a little notice. No being locked in, no penalties.
Who can reach you Building
Three separate yeses, so no one is ever pulled into contact they didn't choose.
A connection between Villages doesn't suddenly make everyone reachable by everyone else. Your choice sits at three levels:
First: the two Villages agree
Your Village organiser agrees to the connection. That makes contact possible, but doesn't switch anything on for any one member yet.
Without this first agreement, nothing else can happen.
Second: you opt in
Each member chooses whether to take part. To start with, you can't be found and you won't get calls from the other Village unless you say so.
- Let people in the other Village find you: on or off
- Take calls from the other Village: on or off
- Who can call: ask me each time / only people I've allowed / anyone in the connected Village
Third: each call, your call
Even with everything switched on, a call can still ask before it connects. You see who's calling and which Village they're from before you answer.
Example: taking part on your own terms
Your family Village connects with your cousins' family Village. You opt in. Your uncle, who finds video calls a bit much, opts out. He simply can't be seen or reached this way — and he doesn't have to explain himself.
You choose at every step. No one is ever exposed to contact from another Village unless they've said yes.
Contact cards Aspirational
A simple link you can share so people in another Village can reach you.
How do people in another Village find you? Through a contact card — a link you share that shows only what you choose to show.
What's on a contact card
Your name, which Village you're part of, and a way to get in touch. That's it. No email, no phone number, nothing personal beyond what you choose to put on your own profile.
What it looks like
Jane Smith
Smith Family Village
How the cards work
- Make one: Create a card in your settings. You get a link that's yours to share.
- Share it: Send the link to someone in another Village however you like — email, a message, whatever suits.
- Connect: They open the link. If your two Villages are connected, they can call you or save you as a contact.
- Take it back: Switch your card off whenever you want. The link stops working straight away.
How your privacy is looked after
- Doesn't last forever: Cards run out after a set time (30 days by default). Old links simply stop working.
- Only the basics: Just your name and Village show — no contact details.
- Only between connected Villages: Cards only work between Villages that have agreed to connect. A stranger can't use them.
- Privacy by design: Built to share as little as possible, right from the start.
Contact cards put you in charge of who can find you. You decide who gets your link, and you can take it back any time.
Video calls between Villages Delivered
Talk face to face with people in another Village.
This is the main reason Villages connect: to video call members of another Village, without everyone having to join the same app.
How the calls work
- Straight between you: The video goes directly between the two people, using everyday web technology built into your browser.
- On our own equipment: When a direct link needs a hand connecting, that's handled by our own servers — not an outside company.
- Set up in-house: Setting up a call happens on Village's own servers. No outside services are involved.
What a call looks like
Start
You tap "Call" on someone's contact card, or on a contact from a connected Village.
A quick check
Behind the scenes it checks the Villages are connected, that you've both opted in, and that their settings allow the call.
It rings
They see who's calling and which Village you're from, and choose to answer or not.
You're talking
The call connects straight between your two devices, and the picture and sound flow directly.
What this saves you
Instead of swapping details on yet another app, you just call them through your Village. No new accounts, nothing to install, and nothing handed to outside companies.
Video calls without depending on someone else's app. Your call stays within Village's own system.
Everyday examples
How different kinds of Villages use a connection.
🌳 Family Villages
Families spread out over time. Your household's Village can connect with your aunt's family Village in Germany, or your cousins' Village in New Zealand.
💼 Small business Villages
Businesses work with suppliers, partners and contractors who aren't staff but still need to keep in touch. A connection lets them call each other directly, with no shared app to sign up to.
👥 Community Villages
Neighbouring communities, sister towns, or groups across a region can connect to share a hand and coordinate, without merging into one big organisation.
A connection suits any relationship where you keep in touch often but don't want to merge into a single group.
What connecting is not
A few common mix-ups about how connecting Villages works.
-
A network you join
There's no big "connected Villages" club to sign up to. Each connection is its own separate agreement between two Villages.
Instead: you set up your own connections, one at a time, with Villages you trust. -
Being found automatically
Connecting doesn't make your members searchable outside your Village. Only members who opt in can be found, only through their contact cards, and only by a connected Village.
Instead: members share their own contact cards with the people they choose. -
Sharing your information
Connecting doesn't copy your information across to another Village. Your stories, photos, documents and member details all stay in your own Village.
Instead: only the little that's needed for a call — a name and a Village — shows during that call. -
Something you have to do
Connecting is entirely up to you. Plenty of Villages get along perfectly well without connecting to anyone.
Instead: you decide if and when to connect, based on what your community needs. -
Run by someone in the middle
No one sits in the middle approving, watching or controlling connections. Even the people who run the platform can't see your agreements.
Instead: each connection is a private agreement between two Villages.
Connecting adds something. It doesn't chip away at your privacy, hand over control, or tie you to anyone.
Sorting out disagreements Aspirational
If members of two connected Villages fall out, there's a clear, fair way to sort it.
Every connection comes with a simple way to sort out problems. When members of two Villages disagree, it doesn't have to blow up into a row between the Villages — there's a step-by-step path to a fair outcome.
Three steps
Talk it through (7 days)
The people involved try to sort it out between themselves. Organisers can help the conversation along but don't decide the outcome. Most things get settled here.
Both Villages' organisers look at it (14 days)
Organisers from both Villages look at it together. They may put it to a vote among the Village leaders, and decide by agreement or a majority, as the connection's terms set out.
A neutral panel (30 days)
If it still isn't settled, it goes to a neutral panel of organisers who take turns on such cases. A recorded vote, with a set number of people needed to take part, gives the final answer.
When two Villages run differently
Villages may have different rules. When they connect, any differences are named up front, and both Villages agree how to handle them:
- The author's Village decides: Something follows the rules of the Village it came from (the usual choice).
- The stricter rule wins: Where they disagree, the tighter rule applies.
- Each respects the other: Each Village keeps to its own rules for its own members.
A way to sort out problems is built into every connection. You're never left wondering what happens when something goes wrong.
The ground rules everyone shares
Why Villages can trust each other: they all start from the same basic protections.
Connecting works because every Village starts from the same basic set of rules. That's not just paperwork — it's what makes trust possible.
What are a Village's ground rules?
Every Village has a set of ground rules that spell out members' rights, how decisions are made, and what the community stands for. The basic set includes protections that no Village can take away or water down.
Why it matters when Villages connect
- A shared starting point: You know any Village you connect with keeps the same basic protections for its members.
- Agreements stay within the rules: A connection can't break either Village's ground rules — the system won't allow it.
- Your rights come with you: When you deal with another Village, your own Village's protections still cover you.
Want to understand a Village's ground rules properly?
Read about Village ground rules →Getting started
Head to Admin > Federation to propose or review a connection. You'll need the web address of the Village you'd like to connect with.
Head to Settings > Federation to opt in or out. Make your contact card there to share with people in other Villages.
Ask your Village's help assistant about connecting. It can walk you through it, step by step.
Ready to connect?
See how Village helps communities stay in charge — with connections, Village AI, and more.