FAQ

A group adds films, takes turns picking one, then watches by a shared deadline and leaves sealed half-star ratings and reviews. Reviews reveal together when the round closes. It closes when everyone has watched and rated or passed, or at the deadline. Clubs can choose to keep it open until the deadline even when everyone finishes early.

From the CINECLUB home screen, choose Create a club, give it a name, and share the invite code (or invite link) with your group. No sign-up needed, just a name to get going.

Choose Join a club and enter the code they gave you, or just open the invite link they shared, and it fills the code in for you. An existing member then needs to approve you in, which keeps clubs private to the people actually in them.

No, you're up and running with just a name. Everything's tied to your browser on that one device by default. If you want to use CINECLUB on a second device without losing your seat, see "How do I use CINECLUB on a new phone…" below, that's what "saving your account" is for, and it's entirely optional.

Whoever's turn it is picks from the eligible films using the film-strip reel or wheel. This display choice is personal, so changing yours does not change anyone else's. Choose it under Spin settings on the Spin tab. The picked film gets a watch-by deadline.

It is how long the club gets to watch the film: 7 days by default. Change the default under Spin settings for future picks. Whoever picked the current film can propose moving its deadline from the film card while the round is open. One other member needs to approve before it changes.

Optional, and separate from the watch-by deadline (which stays flexible for everyone's own time either way). Under the deadline on the film card, tap "Planning a movie night?" to propose a specific date and time. It shows to the whole club with an "I'm in" / "Can't make it" RSVP and add-to-calendar links. Any member can propose, change, or cancel it, not just whoever spun the film.

So everyone can form their own opinion before seeing anyone else's. Scores and reviews stay sealed, including in Stats, while the round is open. It normally closes when everyone has watched and rated or passed, or when the deadline arrives. If End round on weekly deadline is on in Spin settings, reviews stay sealed until that deadline even if everyone finishes early. Everyone's reviews then appear together.

Tap "Can't watch this week?" on the film card, then Just this one. You're excused from that round. It won't hold up everyone else waiting on you, though it does show up in the club's stats. Changed your mind after passing? There's an undo right there too, as long as the round's still open. If you're going to be away for longer than one film, the same prompt has duration options ("1 week", "2 weeks", etc., or your own return date), which also excuses you from turns you'd otherwise be spinning while you're away.

The round closes on its own once the deadline passes: reviews reveal and the turn moves on to the next person, whether or not everyone's finished. Nobody has to remember to do anything, and nobody's stuck waiting on whoever's behind.

If you missed it, you're not shut out completely. Once the round's closed and before the next person actually spins, you can ask to add your review late. Whoever's about to spin next decides: if they say yes, it counts even though the round's already revealed. The moment they spin, that window's gone.

Yes, tap "Streaming info wrong? Fix it" under the film card and correct which services it's actually on. That correction is shared with the rest of your club (and reused if another club spots the same film later), since the "where to watch" data behind it isn't always accurate. If JustWatch later changes what it lists for that film (it moves to a different service, say), CINECLUB goes back to JustWatch's new answer by itself. Use JustWatch in the same window drops your club's correction straight away.

Yes. Open Notifications next to Account (under Menu on phones) and turn reminders on for each device you want nudged. They are optional and remembered per club on that device. You can also turn them on or off for every club from the same screen.

Deadline reminders go to members who have not watched or passed, once the deadline is within about 48 hours. Club notifications also cover your turn to spin, nudges and automatic-spin updates. Chat notifications have their own switch.

Look under Menu on a phone. Notifications has its own screen, separate from Account, and explains whether this device can receive them.

On iPhone or iPad, reminders need the Home Screen web app and iOS or iPadOS 16.4 or later. In Safari, open thecineclub.co.uk, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. If offered, keep Open as Web App on. Open the new icon and enable reminders there. Other browsers may also offer Add to Home Screen. On Android, a supported browser such as Chrome can receive them without installing.

If notifications are blocked, allow them in your browser or device settings.

• Open Notifications on that device and check whether reminders are on for this club. If it offers to reconnect the device, use that option.
• Use Send a test notification to check whether the device can show one. This local test does not prove that a club reminder was delivered.
• Deadline reminders skip members who have watched or passed. They start when the deadline is within about 48 hours. Turn-to-spin and other club alerts follow their own events.

Still stuck? Use Feedback and describe what you are seeing.

Save your account first, from your original device: Account menu, then Google or email. On the new device, choose Sign in to your account (on the landing screen, or wherever it's offered) rather than joining as if you were new. That reclaims your existing seat, name, and history instead of creating a duplicate person in the club.

An installed Home Screen app can have a different sign-in session from Safari, so a Google sign-in popup opened from inside the app genuinely can't see any Google account you're signed into elsewhere on your phone. It's a limitation of iPhones, not something CINECLUB can turn off.

Two ways round it: sign into your Google account for the first time right there in the popup (Face ID can usually fill your password from your device's keychain), or sign in with your email and password instead. If you have never set a password, or have forgotten it, choose Set or reset password. If the email shows a code, type it into the app: that works in the installed app, where the email's link would open in Safari instead.

Other club members cannot read your score or review while the round is open. Reviews reveal when it closes, under the rules explained above. Club conversations are restricted to members in normal use; authorised administration and providers can access them where necessary; the separate Ideas board shares approved posts across clubs. Joining a club needs an existing member's approval. See the Privacy Policy for how information is handled.

Yes. A mature film only ever reaches the wheel once every current member of your club has this setting on. If even one member has it off, mature films stay off the wheel for the whole club, not just for that member.

This can still change mid-round: if a member turns their setting off, or a new member joins without it on, after a mature film has already been picked, that member won't see its title. They get a note that a film is hidden by their content settings, and can choose to sit that round out so the rest of the club can still finish it.

Yes. In the Films tab, choose Import films, then choose your watchlist or another film collection. Letterboxd supports watched films, diary entries, rated, reviewed and liked films, and your lists. IMDb supports your watchlist, rated films, lists and check-ins. The guide opens the right export page for Letterboxd or IMDb, then helps you choose the downloaded file. CINECLUB opens the original Letterboxd download for you, so you don't need to unpack it. Pick which films to include, then let the wheel or film strip choose. The import adds film choices; your scores, reviews and watched dates stay on the original site.

You can also import into the free public movie picker, without a club or account. Follow the illustrated guides for Letterboxd or IMDb, then choose your films before adding them.

Services available in each member's selected country or region, shown as "where to watch" chips on the film card. UK examples include Netflix, Prime Video, Disney+, Apple TV, BBC iPlayer, ITVX and Channel 4. The information comes from TMDB/JustWatch and may be incomplete or out of date. See "The streaming info for a film looks wrong" above.

CINECLUB is free to use. An optional paid tier is being considered; its features, price and launch date have not been finalised.

CINECLUB is currently available as a web app. On iPhone, use Safari's Add to Home Screen; on Android, Chrome can offer to install it. It opens with its own icon and can load cached app screens offline. Live club updates, sign-in and saving changes need a connection.

Check the phone's volume and Silent mode as well as CINECLUB's Sound toggle. On a model with a Ring/Silent switch, move it so orange is not showing. On a model with an Action Button, use it if assigned to Silent mode, or turn Silent mode off in Settings, then Sounds & Haptics. Device and browser audio settings can also affect playback.

The Feedback button (in the app's menu, and on the landing screen): bug report, idea, or anything else. It goes straight to the person who built this. You can also email hello@thecineclub.co.uk directly.

The quickest way: use the small ⋯ (More actions) beside a chat message, review or comment, then choose Report. On a phone you can also press and hold the post. A reply has its own small ⋯ button. The form includes a post reference and short quotation, so you only have to say what is wrong with it. On a computer, right-click and text selection keep their normal browser behaviour.

Each conversation also has a Report link: at the top of the club chat, under a film's reviews, and beside its discussion. It opens the same form with the most recent posts from other members attached, so you can say which one without finding it first.

You can also press Feedback and choose Report content or a safety concern, which is the first option in the list. Or email hello@thecineclub.co.uk with "Report" in the subject line, whether or not you are a member of the club it is in.

I aim to acknowledge a report within 2 working days and review it as soon as reasonably practicable. If I have reason to believe content is illegal, I take proportionate steps to remove it swiftly. I tell you the outcome where I can do so safely, and you can ask me to look again. The Terms of Use set out the full process and what is not allowed.