Towne Square
The heart of your neighborhood. General discussion, updates, questions, and all the day-to-day stuff that doesn't fit in a more specific channel.
A premium social club for your neighborhood
No ads. Every opinion matters.
And inevitably, a coyote. And an e-bike.
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Early preview · design in progress
Our mission
“We should be one. Different views, different backgrounds, but one community all the same.”
Marc Hoag, Towne founder
From my 2023 essay that became the founding thesis of TowneOrganize the block party. Coordinate the snow shoveling. Find the right babysitter. Show up to the council meeting.
Towne is for the members-only stuff your neighborhood actually needs.
Real talk from Marin
Only 7% of neighbors actually like Nextdoor.
We’re not guessing at the problem. In an informal poll of r/Marin residents who use Nextdoor regularly, only 8 out of 111 said they like it. 30 said “meh.” 73 said no.
Source: Live poll in r/Marin on Reddit · Snapshot taken April 14, 2026
P.S.
“I ran a similar poll on Nextdoor itself, asking neighbors how they access the app. The post was removed for being ‘spam.’”
Marc, Towne founder
This is exactly the frustration Towne solves. Opaque moderation silencing even polite, legitimate questions. No explanation, no appeal. Just gone.
And this isn’t new
Back in October 2023, I wrote an essay arguing that Nextdoor’s content moderation was the antithesis of community building. I posted it to my Marin County neighborhood on Nextdoor. It was deleted within 50 minutes. I posted it two more times. It was deleted two more times.
Before the third deletion, 8 neighbors had liked it and several left thoughtful comments. One wrote: “My posts are always deleted too.” Another wrote: “I hope it’s not deleted, and I hope it is widely read.” A few minutes later, it was gone.
That essay, the one whose final line dictates Towne’s mission, became our founding thesis. If you’re curious about the origin story, and about what it feels like to be silenced for pointing out that silencing is the problem, the full piece is on Medium.
Read the essay on Medium
Why Towne?
Ads overwhelm the feed. Opaque moderation silences different opinions. Users are the product. Towne flips all three.
No Ads. Ever.
Your feed is yours. No sponsored posts, no promoted content, no advertisers competing for your attention. You're the customer, not the product.
Community Moderation
Moderators on other apps silence even decent, polite discussion based on personal bias. Towne uses transparent community voting instead. Every neighbor has a vote, every removed post is visible, and no one decides what you can say but the community itself.
Your Data Stays Yours
No tracking. No data sales. No behavioral advertising. Your membership fee pays for the platform, so we never need to monetize your attention or your data.
Seven channels. One neighborhood.
Each channel has its own personality, layout, and purpose. Not a generic feed with hashtags. Purpose-built spaces for how neighbors actually communicate.
Safety & Alerts
Break-ins, road closures, wildlife sightings, emergencies. Auto-push notifications keep everyone safe.
Marketplace
Buy, sell, or give away. Photo-first listings with price badges. No payment processing, just neighbors trading.
Recommendations
Easily find the best plumber, restaurant, or vet. Searchable directory with star ratings from neighbors you trust.
Events
Local happenings, meetups, garage sales. Date/time, maps, RSVP buttons, and attendee counts.
Towne Hall
Politics and civic debate, by choice. Opt-in only. Politically-flagged posts auto-move to Towne Hall so your main feed stays clean.
Lost & Found
Missing pets, found keys, lost items. Photo-first with status tracking: Missing, Found, Reunited.
Coming to Towne
A real neighborhood. Not just a feed.
Neighbor Connections
Build your own inner circle. Connect with verified neighbors down the street. Share privately with just them. DM one-to-one.
Private Shared Albums
Block parties, neighborhood potlucks, the great September storm. Share photos only with the neighbors who were there. Never public, never sold. Build the shared memory that turns a zip code into community.
Members-Only Events
Host a book club, a group hike, a kid's birthday. The guest list is actual verified neighbors, not strangers claiming to live 'around the area.'
Events. In the wild.
Trail cleanups. Block parties. Neighborhood potlucks.
RSVPs from verified neighbors. Maps with pinned locations. Attendee counts you can actually trust. The stuff that turns a zip code into a community.
It’s political.
Politics belongs in Towne Hall,
not your neighborhood feed.
Other apps force you to scroll past heated political threads to find out about a missing cat. Towne has a better way.
1
Neighbors flag political content
Anyone can flag a post as political. Flags are separate from upvotes and downvotes. They don’t punish the author, they just categorize the content.
2
Flagged posts fade in the feed
Once enough neighbors flag a post, it fades in the feed with a “Political” tag. You can still read it, but it doesn’t dominate your scroll.
3
Highly political posts auto-move
When a post crosses the threshold, it moves to the Towne Hall channel, an opt-in space for civic debate. Never subscribed by default.
Towne Hall. In session.
Housing density. School bonds. The stuff that actually affects your neighborhood.
Towne Hall is where civic conversation lives. Opt-in, never subscribed by default. Political posts from your main feed automatically land here once the community flags them, keeping your scroll clean without silencing anyone.
The result: a neighborhood feed that feels like a neighborhood.
Safety alerts stay prominent. Lost pets get found. Garage sales get attended. Political debates still happen, just in the room designed for them, by neighbors who opted in.
Enjoy your next-door community.
Getting started is simple
1
Join
Download Towne and sign up with Apple ID or email. Pick your neighborhood from our curated list.
2
Verify
Prove you live here. Get a vouch code from a neighbor, verify your location, or submit address proof.
3
Connect
You're in. Browse the feed, post to channels, DM neighbors, RSVP to events, and join your community.
Simple, honest pricing
A premium social club runs on member dues. Your membership eliminates ads, filters for invested neighbors, and funds a platform that actually works for you.
Monthly
Flexible, cancel anytime.
$10/month
- All 7 channels
- Direct messaging
- Post, comment, vote
- Zero ads, forever
Annual
2 months free. Cancel anytime.
$100/year
Save 17%
- Everything in Monthly
- 17% savings vs monthly
- Annual billing
- Cancel anytime
Limited
Founding Member
First 50 per neighborhood. Cancel anytime.
FREE
for your first year, then $50/yr for life
- Everything in Annual
- Founding Member badge
- Your first year is free
- $50/yr locked forever after
Frequently asked questions
Because your neighborhood deserves better
Be one of the first 50 members in your neighborhood: your first year is free, then $50/year locked for life. No ads, no tracking, no compromises.