Answers to the questions people ask most about Empty Vessels. Don't see yours? Email support@emptyvessels.app and we'll get back to you.
Jump to: About · The beta · Signing in · Circles and invites · Prayers · Notifications · Privacy and safety · Getting help
A quiet place to carry each other in prayer. You share prayer requests with small, private groups of people you trust. We call these groups circles. There's no public feed, no likes, and no strangers.
You can also keep private prayers that only you can see.
Empty Vessels is free. There are no ads, and we don't sell your information.
Right now, iPhone. An Android version is planned after the iPhone app launches in the App Store.
Empty Vessels is made by Jared Cochran, an independent developer in Indiana.
TestFlight is Apple's free app for trying out apps before they're released in the App Store. While Empty Vessels is in beta, you install it through TestFlight instead of the App Store.
Do these steps in order:
If you tap the circle link before the app is installed, you'll land on a web page instead of in the app. Nothing is broken. Finish installing, then tap the circle link again.
The beta has a limited number of places. Let the person who invited you know, and they can check with us.
The current beta runs through Friday, September 25, 2026.
When a new version is ready, TestFlight will show an Update button next to Empty Vessels. You can also turn on automatic updates in the TestFlight app.
Smaller fixes sometimes download quietly in the background. They take effect the next time you close and reopen the app. If something looks different from yesterday, that's why.
The easiest way: take a screenshot while you're in the app, then tap Share Beta Feedback and add a note. It reaches us with your iPhone model attached, which helps a lot.
You can also open TestFlight, tap Empty Vessels, and choose Send Beta Feedback, or email support@emptyvessels.app.
Nothing is too small to mention, especially anything confusing.
Yes. The beta uses the same account system as the released app, so your account, circles, and prayers will still be there.
Beta versions expire after a while. Open TestFlight and install the newest version of Empty Vessels. Your account and prayers are not affected.
Choose one of three ways: Sign in with Apple, Sign in with Google, or Email me a code. There is no password. If you choose email, we send a 6-digit code to type into the app.
Still nothing? Try Sign in with Apple or Google instead, or email us.
Codes only work for a short time, and each new code replaces the last one. Tap Resend code and use the code from the newest email.
Not right now. Please use Apple, Google, or email.
You most likely signed in a different way than last time, for example with Google instead of email. Each sign-in method can create its own account. Go to Profile → Sign Out, then sign in the way you did the first time.
This also comes up if you used Sign in with Apple and chose Hide My Email. Apple then gives us a private relay address instead of your real email, so signing in later by email code with your real address creates a separate account. Pick one way to sign in and stick with it.
A small, private group, like a family, a small group from church, or a few close friends. Prayers you share with a circle are seen only by the people in it.
You can be in as many circles as you like.
Someone who looks after the circle (an admin) sends you an invite link. Tap it on your iPhone, with the app installed, and you'll see the circle and a Join button. There are no codes to type.
This usually means one of two things:
Invite links can be set to expire, or to work only a certain number of times. For privacy, the app doesn't say which. Ask the person who invited you for a fresh link.
Go to the Circles tab and tap + Create. You'll be the circle's admin.
Only admins can invite. Open the circle and tap Invite. Choose how long the link lasts and how many people can use it, then tap Generate & share link and send it however you like.
Anyone who has the link can join, so share it personally rather than posting it publicly.
Tip: the link lasts 7 days unless you change it. For a group that will trickle in over a few weeks, choose 30 days.
The display name you chose when you set up your profile. You can also use a different name in each circle. Open the circle, tap ⋯, and choose Edit my name in this circle.
Open the circle, go to its member list, tap your own name, and choose Leave circle. You'll stop seeing that circle's prayers and members.
Admins can rename the circle, send invites, make other members admins, remove members, review reports, and delete the circle. A circle can have more than one admin.
Tap the + button in the middle of the tab bar. Give your prayer a short title, and add details if you'd like. Then choose who can see it:
You can also add who the prayer is for, a type (adoration, confession, thanksgiving, or supplication), a category, and whether it's urgent. All of these are optional.
Yes. Open your prayer and tap Edit. You can change anything, including which circles can see it, or delete it. Only the person who posted a prayer can edit or delete it.
Tap 🙏 Pray today to let the person know you prayed for them today. People in the circle can see who prayed and how many did. It resets each day, so you can come back tomorrow and pray again.
The person who posted a prayer can add updates as things change, like news from the doctor or how an interview went. Updates keep the whole story in one place instead of starting a new prayer.
The person who posted the prayer, and people who share a circle with the person commenting. If a prayer is shared with two different circles, members of one circle may not see comments made by members of the other. That's on purpose, so each circle stays private. You can reply to comments and react to comments and updates.
It saves a prayer to your Favorites, so you can find it again easily. Use the Favorites filter at the top of your Feed. Only you can see what you've anchored.
Open your prayer and tap Mark answered, then share how it was answered. Your circle sees the good news, and the prayer moves to your Archive.
A place to look back on answered prayers. The name comes from 1 Samuel 7:12, where Samuel sets up a stone and names it Ebenezer, saying, "Thus far the LORD has helped us."
Prayers of adoration, confession, or thanksgiving move to the Archive automatically after 7 days, which keeps the Feed focused on current needs. Prayer requests (supplication) never move on their own. They stay until you mark them answered.
A built-in collection of Bible passages, from the Berean Standard Bible, organized by topic. Open it with the book icon on the Feed, or with Find Scripture while writing a prayer. You can browse topics, search, read by book and chapter, bookmark passages, and add a verse straight into your prayer.
If a topic looks wrong to you, use Suggest a correction on that topic. Only we see what you send.
By default:
You can switch any of these off in Profile → Settings → Notifications.
To protect privacy. Prayer requests can be personal, and a lock screen can be seen by anyone nearby. Notifications only say something like "Sarah shared a new prayer". Open the app to read it.
If you'd rather notifications didn't show names either, turn off Show details in notifications in Profile → Settings → Notifications. They'll then say something like "New prayer in one of your circles".
Only the people in the circles you choose, or only you, if you choose Just me. There's no public feed, no public profiles, and no way for strangers to find you.
Your prayers are stored securely on our servers and shown only to the people you share them with. Like most apps, they are not end-to-end encrypted, which means the service could technically access them. We don't read them, sell them, or use them for advertising. Our Privacy Policy explains exactly what we collect and why.
No. There are no ads, no advertising trackers, and no product analytics watching which screens you use. We don't ask for your location or your contacts. Invites are links you share yourself.
Press and hold on a prayer, or on someone's name, and choose Report. Your report is private. It goes to that circle's admins, or to our moderators.
Press and hold on a prayer or a person's name and choose Block. You won't see each other's prayers or profiles. To undo it, go to Profile → Settings → Blocked Users.
Circle admins can also remove someone from a circle and stop them rejoining with an invite.
Go to Profile → Settings → Account → Delete Account. You'll confirm it's you, then type DELETE.
Deleting is permanent and immediate. Your profile, prayers, updates, comments, and circle memberships are removed. If you're the only admin of a circle, another member takes over; circles where you're the only member are deleted.
If you just want to step away from one group, you can leave a circle instead.
Yes. You must be at least 13 to use Empty Vessels. If you're under 18, please use it with a parent or guardian's knowledge.
Empty Vessels follows your iPhone's text size (Settings → Accessibility → Display & Text Size → Larger Text). After changing it, close Empty Vessels completely and reopen it to see the new size.
Yes. It follows your iPhone's Light or Dark appearance setting automatically.
Email support@emptyvessels.app, or in the app go to Profile → Settings → Contact Support. It helps to tell us:
We read every message.