Skip to content

Early accessSwinton, South Yorkshire

Feel more at home in your neighbourhood.

Homestead is the app for the people who live around you. Discover your neighbours, join local groups and take part in the conversations happening on your doorstep.

Get early access See how it works

Free for residents. For people aged 16 and over.

The Homestead community feed for Swinton: a post about a Saturday litter pick with a photo, and a neighbour asking for a local electrician with a reply. (An illustration of the Homestead app, not a screenshot.)

Illustration of the app

Starting in Swinton. Built for everywhere.

Homestead is opening one community at a time, beginning in Swinton, South Yorkshire. We’re learning from the people who live there first, then growing to more towns, villages and neighbourhoods across the UK.

How communities work

What Homestead is for

Three simple ideas, one neighbourhood.

  1. Know your community

    Put names to the faces you pass every day. Discover who lives nearby, what they do and what they love, from gardening to running to a good book.

  2. Connect with people

    Join the conversation, find a group that suits you, or start one. Small connections, close to home, that make a place feel friendlier.

  3. Have a say

    Take part in the conversations shaping where you live. Ask questions, share what you know and help your neighbours when you can.

In the app today

Everything you need to feel part of it.

Homestead is in early access. These are the things you can already do, built with residents and their privacy in mind.

People

Find the people around you.

The People directory shows the adults in your community who’ve chosen to appear in it. Browse their profiles, spot someone who shares a hobby, or find a neighbour who can lend a hand.

  • Search by name, job or interest
  • Filter by the interests you share
  • See who offers local work, from gardening to joinery
  • Hide yourself from the directory whenever you like

Illustration of the app

Community feed

See what’s happening nearby.

Your community’s feed is where neighbours share news, ask questions and look out for each other. Lost pets, local recommendations, a litter pick on Saturday: it’s all here.

  • Share posts with up to four photos
  • Comment, reply and like
  • Ask for recommendations and offer help
  • Edit or delete what you’ve written

Illustration of the app

Groups

Join the groups that suit you.

From a running club to a street’s own noticeboard, groups bring together people with something in common. Join in, or start one for your corner of town.

  • Street & Neighbourhood, Parents & Family, Sport & Fitness, Hobbies & Interests and Community Projects
  • Open groups, or ones you ask to join
  • Start your own and choose managers to help run it
  • Group posts are for members only

Illustration of the app

Your profile

Make yourself at home.

Your profile is how neighbours get to know you. Share as much or as little as you like. The details that could identify where you live always stay private.

  • A photo, a few words about you and your interests
  • Say how long you’ve lived locally, if you’d like to
  • Offer local work if you’re 18 or over
  • Choose whether neighbours see your age range

Illustration of the app

Why it matters

You can live on the same street for years and never really know who’s next door.

It isn’t that people don’t care. Life is busy, and there are fewer places where neighbours naturally cross paths. We wave from the car, say hello at the shop, and leave it there.

Homestead is a gentle nudge. A way to put names to faces, ask who knows a good plumber, find someone to walk with, or get the litter pick you’ve been thinking about off the ground.

Our first community

It starts close to home.

Swinton, South Yorkshire, is where Homestead begins. Starting with one community means we can listen properly, learn from real residents and get the details right.

Then we’ll grow, community by community. If you live somewhere else, register your interest and help us decide where to go next.

Register your interest About our communities
First community

Swinton

South Yorkshire

Decorative map, not to scale

Trust and safety

Built for real neighbourhoods.

Homestead is designed around the people who actually live in a place, and around treating each other well. No online space is free of risk, so we give you the tools to look after yourself and each other.

How we handle your information

  • Real resident profiles

    People join with their own name and the home they live in, which places them in their community. Addresses aren’t verified yet, so we rely on honesty and on reports when something looks wrong.

  • Your community, not the whole internet

    Profiles, posts and groups are seen by people in your own community. Nothing on Homestead is public on the web.

  • Privacy by design

    Your address is never shown to anyone. Neighbours see “Swinton resident”, not your street. Location data is removed from every photo you share.

  • Reporting and blocking

    Report a post, comment, group or person in a couple of taps. Block someone and you disappear from each other’s view.

  • Community moderation

    Reports go to Homestead’s moderators, who can remove content and suspend accounts. Group managers look after their own groups.

  • For ages 16 and over

    Under-18s never appear in the People directory and can’t offer local work.

Your community is closer than you think.

Homestead is opening in Swinton first. Register your interest and we'll let you know when you can join, wherever you live.

Be part of HomesteadSee how it works