Questions, answered

Local places send short-lived offers to phones nearby. A coffee shop with a dead Tuesday afternoon. A restaurant with tables free at seven. You see what is live around you right now, claim what you want, and show a code at the counter.

The offers really are time-limited. That is the whole point: a business is trading a genuine discount for filling a quiet hour, so the window is narrow on purpose.

Nothing. Beam is free, there is no subscription, and you never enter a card to claim a deal. You pay the business directly, at the business, the way you always would.

1. Open Nearby and pick something that is live.
2. Tap to claim it. You get a code.
3. Show the code at the counter before it runs out.
4. Staff scan it, or type it in. Done.

A claim holds for 60 minutes, so claim it when you are actually heading over rather than first thing in the morning.

Claiming opens a screen with a large QR code and a six-character code under it, something like DR5U4C, plus the time you have left. You show that screen. Staff open the Validate tab in their own Beam app, point the camera at it, and confirm.

Your claim is marked used at that moment and cannot be used again. Then you pay the discounted price directly, the way you always would. There is nothing to sign up for at the till and nothing to print.

Each redemption earns you 25 Glow Points, plus a 10 point bonus the first time you redeem in a new week.

Read out the six characters under the QR code instead. Staff can type them into the same screen and the result is identical. Tap the code in the app to copy it if you would rather send it across.

Turning your screen brightness up usually fixes a scan that will not catch.

Seven categories, and you can narrow to just the ones you care about.

• Food
• Coffee
• Bars
• Shopping
• Fun
• Wellness
• Services

The claim lapses and the slot goes back to whoever wants it. If the deal is still running, just claim it again. Letting one expire does not lock you out.

Either its window closed, or it hit the maximum number of redemptions the business set. Both are normal. A beam is a burst, not a permanent listing, which is why the countdown is the loudest thing on the card.

Usually not. Most places set their offers to one per person, so the budget spreads across new faces instead of one enthusiast. If a deal allows repeats, it will let you claim again.

Points for actually redeeming deals, not for browsing. Every redemption is worth 25 points, plus a 10 point bonus the first time you redeem in a new week. It rewards turning up regularly rather than bingeing once.

With Sign in with Apple, or with an email address and password.

No. Notifications respect quiet hours and there is a cap on how many you get in a day, so a busy neighbourhood cannot flood you. You can also narrow things to the categories you care about.

On iPhone, in the United States. Deals are inherently local, so coverage grows neighbourhood by neighbourhood as businesses join.