Communities directory and join requests

milvao.com/communities is a public list of communities that run on Milvao. The Milvao team checks every community before it appears. Each card shows your logo, name, tagline, your members' main cities and a rough member count, and links to your mini-site. If you also accept join requests, visitors can press Request to join on your card or on your mini-site, and your team decides who gets a join link.

Only the owner can change these settings. Anyone on the team can approve or decline requests.

List your community#

1. Turn on the mini-site first: Settings → Mini-site → Show the mini-site (see Mini-site, member directory and public profiles). Only a live mini-site can be listed.
2. Under Milvao communities directory, switch on List in the Milvao communities directory.
3. Click Save changes. The box above the switch now says Waiting for Milvao review.
4. The Milvao team checks your mini-site, usually within one working day. You get an email either way. Once approved, the box says Listed and your card appears on milvao.com/communities within a few minutes.

Review by the Milvao team#

Every community is checked before it's listed, so the directory stays useful and safe for visitors. The team looks at your mini-site: name, tagline, description, logo and cover.

After approval, changing your community's name, tagline, description, logo or cover sends the listing back for a quick review, and the card leaves the directory until it's approved again. Your mini-site itself stays live the whole time. Other changes, such as your website link or the directory switches, don't need a review.

Turning listing off and on again also starts a new review.

Communities are listed in alphabetical order. Visitors can search by name, tagline or city, filter by city, and show only communities Taking join requests.

What your card shows#

Members' names, numbers and profiles are never on the card. Your member directory keeps its own setting.

To take your community off the list, switch List in the Milvao communities directory off and save. Turning the mini-site off removes the card too. Your setting is kept, so the card comes back when you turn the mini-site on again.

Accept join requests#

1. With listing on, switch on Accept join requests from the directory.
2. Click Save changes.

Once your listing is approved, your card and your mini-site's How to join box show Request to join. While the listing waits for review, nobody can send a request. The form asks for:

The form is protected against bots and floods: a human check, a hidden trap field, and limits per visitor and per community each day. Asking again from the same number updates the waiting request instead of adding a new one.

Owners and operators get an email when new requests come in, at most once an hour. You can change this under Settings → Notifications → Someone asked to join, and add WhatsApp alerts there.

Approve or decline#

Go to Members → Join requests. The Join requests button on the Members page shows how many are waiting.

The table shows each person's name, the last 4 digits of their number, email, note, status and when they asked. Already a member means that number is already in your community. Use the tabs for New, Approved, Declined and All, and search by name, email or the last digits of the number.

Approve#

1. Click Approve.
2. Choose the Group they join.
3. Leave Send the link on WhatsApp on to have Milvao send it, or turn it off to send it yourself.
4. Click Approve and send (or Approve).

Milvao makes a personal join link for that group that works for 14 days. The person becomes a member only when they tap it and send the JOIN message to your community number, then fill in their profile like everyone else.

When Milvao can send it. The person has never written to your number, so WhatsApp allows only an approved template as the first message. Milvao sends your member invite template when all of these are true:

• your WhatsApp number is connected;
• the member invite template is approved (see Connect your WhatsApp number);
• your number's quality rating is green;
• your business number is set, so there's a tap-to-join link.

If any of these isn't true, the switch is off and the approve window says why. After approving, you see their full number, the message to send and Open a chat with them, which opens WhatsApp on your phone or computer with the message filled in. Seeing the number is recorded in the activity log.

Later, the Approved tab shows Link sent, Sending or Not delivered for links Milvao sent, and You share the link for the others. Share join message shows the message again while the link works.

Decline#

Click Decline and confirm. Nothing is sent to the person. If they ask again from the same number within 30 days, the request isn't shown again. After 30 days it comes back as new.

Privacy#

• Requests are visible only to your team, never to members or on milvao.com.
• The number is stored encrypted. The table shows only the last 4 digits until someone approves and needs to send the link.
• The activity log records who approved, declined or viewed a number, never the number, name or note.
• Requests are deleted 90 days after you approve or decline, or after 180 days if nobody decides. Deleting a member's data also deletes their request.

Frequently asked questions#

Can a visitor see who else asked to join?#

No. Requests go only to your team. The page shows the same confirmation whether or not that number asked before.

Do we have to accept join requests to be listed?#

No. You can be listed without join requests. Your card then links to your mini-site, where How to join explains that new members join by invitation.

Why didn't Milvao send the join link?#

Usually because the member invite template isn't approved yet or your number isn't connected. The approve window tells you the reason, and gives you the message to send yourself.

What if the link expires before they use it?#

The link works for 14 days. After that, if they ask again, the request comes back as new so you can approve it again. You can also send them one of your group links.

How long does the review take?#

Usually one working day. You get an email when the Milvao team approves the listing or asks for a change.

Someone reported our community. What happens?#

Every page has a Report this community link. Reports go to the Milvao team, who look at the page and contact you if something needs to change. A listing can be taken off the directory while that happens.

Does the person get a message when we decline?#

No. Milvao never messages someone you decline.