Optional Salad

DoWeDontWe · guide

How to use DoWeDontWe

The full guide in one place — keep it open on your computer while you use the app on your phone. In the app, the same help is under your avatar → Settings → How to use DoWeDontWe, and in any room under ⋮ → How this room works.

What DoWeDontWe is

DoWeDontWe is a shared decision-making app. Create a room, add links to the things you're considering, invite your group, and decide together — by liking, scoring, swiping, spinning and more. Each room has a type, which sets how the group decides.

Rooms, links and items

Getting around

The bar at the bottom has five parts: Home (what needs you — your turn, recent activity, deadlines and decisions), Explore (sites to browse for ideas), the centre + button, Rooms (all your rooms) and Activity (everything happening across your rooms).

The + button

Tap the centre + from anywhere to start a New room, Join a room with a 6-character code (or scan a QR code), Browse the web, or Add a link straight into one of your rooms.

Rooms

A room holds all the options for one decision — for example "Holiday destinations" or "Films to watch". Tap Invite on a room to share its code or QR code so others can join. On the free plan you can have up to 3 active rooms (archive one to make space; joining a friend's room always works); Pro has no limit.

Organising your rooms

On the Rooms tab, long-press a room to add it to your favourites — favourites always sit at the top. Tap Reorder to drag rooms into your own order, and use the view button to switch between cards and a compact list. Your layout follows you to any device you sign in on. Admins can also archive, restore or delete a room from the long-press menu (archived rooms are listed at the bottom).

In a room, tap + to add. Browse the web inside the app and tap + Add this on any page, or paste a URL. The app fetches the title, images, price, rating and location automatically. You can refine what it picked up, choose which images to keep, and edit any detail later from the item's ⋮ menu.

Explore

Explore has quick links to popular sites for holidays, shopping, food and more. Add your own favourite sites with + Add, or save the site you're on from the in-app browser.

Items

Tap any item to open it in full — photos, details, comments and its links. One item can have several links, for example the same song on Spotify and Apple Music: use ⋮ → Add another link, and everyone's votes stay on one item. Added the same thing twice? Use ⋮ → Merge with another item. Set your music app in Settings and Open goes straight to your version. Use the ⋮ menu to edit an item, copy or move it to another room, or remove it.

Swiping between items

In most rooms, swipe left or right on an item to move to the next or previous one in the list. On the item page you can also do what the room list lets you do — like, score, approve, claim or mark done. On Home, Your turn shows the items waiting for you: tap one to open it, then swipe through the rest.

Ideas & notes

Tap the notebook icon in a room to open the notepad. Add reminders, criteria or anything to keep in mind while deciding. Tap a note to edit it, or ✕ to delete it.

Room types

Discovery, Voting and Ranking are free. The others are part of DoWeDontWe Pro. Inside any room, ⋮ → How this room works shows the same steps.

Discovery

Gather links and like your favourites. Great for early-stage browsing.

  1. Anyone in the room can add links with the + button. Paste any URL, or use Browse the web — the app fetches the title, image and description automatically.
  2. Tap ♥ on any item you think is worth considering, so others can see who's keen.
  3. Sort by Newest, Most liked, or My likes (the items you've liked first). Use the filter bar to show items by decision — We Do, We Don't or Who Knows?.
  4. Switch the layout with the view button (top right of the sort bar): Cards, Compact list, or an Image grid.
  5. Swipe an item left to remove it from the room (Undo appears for a few seconds), or use its ⋮ menu to edit, copy or move it.
  6. When your group is ready, tap an item to open it and record the decision with We Do / We Don't. Discovery has no forced conclusion — it's best for early browsing before you vote.

Voting

Score each option out of 5 stars; the favourite rises to the top.

  1. Add links to the items you're deciding between. Everyone in the room can add.
  2. Tap a star (1–5) on an item's card to score it. You can change your score at any time.
  3. Each item shows the average score across all members. Items are sorted highest to lowest when you open the room, so the group favourite is at the top. They stay put while you score, so nothing jumps under your finger.
  4. When you're happy with the result, open the top item and tap We Do to record the group's decision.
  5. Tip: if scores are very close, try a Head to Head room to compare the front-runners directly.

Ranking

Drag items into your own preferred order. Each member keeps their own ranking.

  1. Add the items you want to rank. Any member can add links.
  2. Drag an item by its handle (☰ on the left of the card) to move it up or down into your personal order.
  3. Tap Save ranking when you're happy with your order. Each member saves their own ranking independently.
  4. The room shows your own ranking — other members' orders don't change yours.
  5. Tip: Ranking works well for ordered lists like travel itineraries, priorities or watchlists.

Swipe Pro

Swipe through a deck of cards; an item is a match when everyone likes it.

  1. Add links to the items your group is considering. Each item becomes a card in the deck.
  2. Drag a card right (or tap Like) to approve it, or left (or tap Pass) to reject it.
  3. Each member swipes through the deck independently — your choices don't affect anyone else's view.
  4. An item becomes a match (and is set to We Do) when every member has liked it. Matches are shown once you've finished the deck — tap one to open it.
  5. Tap the list icon in the header to see, open or edit every item without swiping.

Roulette Pro

A spin wheel built from your links — liked items get a bigger slice.

  1. Add your options as links. Each item will become a segment on the spin wheel.
  2. Like items you're keen on — liked items get a bigger slice of the wheel, increasing their chance of being spun.
  3. The admin taps Spin to spin the wheel. The wheel lands on one item at random, weighted by likes.
  4. The admin can Accept the result to lock in the decision, or Spin again if the group wants another go.
  5. Tip: works best when you're genuinely happy with any result — use it to break a tie or add some fun to a casual decision.

Head to Head Pro

Two at a time — keep your favourite until one champion remains.

  1. Add at least two contenders. Any member can add links before the game starts.
  2. The admin taps Start the game. From then on the contenders are hidden from the list and no more can be added.
  3. Each member plays their own gauntlet: two contenders are shown at a time — tap the one you prefer, and it stays on to face the next until you have one pick.
  4. When everyone has picked, the round advances automatically: if you all chose the same item it wins; otherwise the next round is played between everyone's picks.
  5. If a round doesn't narrow things down, the most-picked item wins (ties go to the most-liked). The winner is set to We Do.

Anonymous Pro

Score privately; nobody sees anyone's scores until the admin reveals them.

  1. Add items to the room as normal. Each member scores items privately 1–5.
  2. While voting is open, nobody — not even the admin — can see anyone else's scores in the app.
  3. Once everyone has voted (or the timer expires), the admin taps Reveal to show all scores at once.
  4. The leaderboard appears instantly, showing how the group really feels without anyone being swayed by early votes.
  5. Tip: Anonymous rooms suit sensitive decisions — awards, supplier choices, anything where group pressure might skew honest opinions.

Consensus Pro

Items need a minimum share of high scores (4 or 5) to be accepted.

  1. Add items to the room. Each member scores items 1–5.
  2. Each item shows a Consensus bar — the percentage of members who scored it 4 or higher.
  3. The threshold (default 80%) is set in room settings. When an item's consensus bar reaches the threshold, the admin can Accept it as the group decision.
  4. If no item reaches the threshold, the group can keep deliberating, adjust scores, or the admin can lower the threshold in settings.
  5. Tip: Consensus rooms are best for decisions where you need genuine buy-in from the whole group, not just a majority.

Budget Pro

Pick what fits an overall, per-item or per-category budget, then get it signed off.

  1. Set a budget in room settings — per-item cap, an overall total, or named category budgets.
  2. Add items with prices. The room automatically flags anything over budget in coral.
  3. In Overall mode: tap items to select or deselect them for the budget. The running total is shown at the top.
  4. In Category mode: items are grouped by category. Each category tracks against its own cap, and the room total tracks the overall budget.
  5. When the selection is ready, any member can submit it for approval. Designated approvers review, adjust if needed, and each approve. The budget finalises when all approvers have approved.
  6. The admin can Reopen the budget at any time to start again — for example if a selected item becomes unavailable after finalisation.

Queue Pro

An ordered shared backlog — prioritise it, and tick things off.

  1. Add items to build a shared backlog. Think of it as a group to-do list or watchlist.
  2. The admin can drag items into priority order — the most important item goes to the top.
  3. Any member can mark an item as Done once it's been completed, watched, visited, or actioned.
  4. Done items move to a Done section at the bottom and stay visible for reference.
  5. Tip: Queue rooms are great for ongoing shared lists — content to watch, places to visit, tasks to complete.

Approval Pro

Designated approvers approve or reject each item.

  1. The admin chooses the approvers: open room settings → Members, long-press a member and tap Make approver.
  2. Any member (including the admin) can add items to the room.
  3. Approvers vote Approved or Rejected on each item individually.
  4. When every approver approves an item it becomes We Do; when every approver rejects it, it becomes We Don't.
  5. Tip: Approval rooms suit structured sign-offs — expenses, content, supplier shortlists — where only certain people have the final say.

Game Room (Card Game) Pro

Cards face-down — turn them over one by one; the last card left wins.

  1. Add at least two links — each one becomes a card in the deck.
  2. Any member taps Play game. The cards are shuffled into a face-down grid and the members are given a turn order.
  3. On your turn, tap a card to turn it over — that option is knocked out. Turns pass round the group.
  4. When only one face-down card is left, it's the winner — whatever it is becomes the group's choice. Tap Play again to start over.
  5. Tip: the Card Game adds chance and fun to decisions where everyone is happy with any outcome — what to watch, where to eat.

Birthday List Pro

Gift ideas for one person, with claiming so nobody doubles up.

  1. Add gift ideas for the birthday person — paste a link or type an idea. Anyone can add.
  2. Claim the gift you'll buy so two people don't buy the same thing. The birthday person never sees who claimed what.
  3. The admin controls who can see each gift. New members see nothing until the admin grants them access in room settings → Members.
  4. For a true surprise (e.g. a secret trip), hide the gift from the birthday person entirely — they won't even know it exists.
  5. Tip: the recipient can be a room member (gifts are hidden from them) or just a typed name if they're not in the app.

Festive List Pro

Everyone gets their own gift list, with claiming, budgets and a Secret Santa draw.

  1. Everyone gets their own gift list. Add ideas for anyone — paste a link or type an idea.
  2. Claim the gift you'll buy so nobody doubles up. Recipients never see who claimed their gifts.
  3. The admin controls who can see each gift. New members see nothing until the admin grants access in room settings → Members.
  4. For a true surprise, hide a gift from its recipient entirely — they won't know it exists.
  5. Tip: rethemed for any occasion in room settings — Christmas, Hanukkah, Eid or a generic celebration.

Pocket Money Pro

Chores with a cash value for each child; ticking a job done banks the money.

  1. Add a child with Add child at the top of the room (admins). You can give them an optional emoji avatar — tap their avatar later to rename them or change it.
  2. Tap + to add jobs or chores with a cash value, assigned to a child — e.g. "Tidy room £1".
  3. When a child completes a job, tick it done — the value is banked to that child.
  4. On allowance day, tap Pay out to settle a child's balance back to zero (kept in the payout history).
  5. Optional: set a timer as a deadline — whatever is banked when time runs out is what they've earned.

Map Pro

Pin places on a map and plan a shared route through them.

  1. Tap + to open the map. Drop a pin by tapping, search for a place, or use your current location.
  2. Give the place a name — the nearest town/region/country is filled in for you. Save it and it's added for everyone.
  3. Each place in the list shows a mini map of where it is. Tap it to open it on the map, centred on its pin.
  4. Like places with ♥ and filter the list by decision. Tap View all to see every place together.
  5. Tap Plan a route to visit places in order (A → B → C). Add stops, drag them into order or tap Best order — the route is saved for everyone in the room.
  6. From the route, tap the share icon to open it in Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze, share a GPX file, or get a step-by-step directions PDF.

Deciding and sharing

Decisions

Open any item and use We Do / We Don't / Who Knows? to record the decision. Filter a room by decision using the filter bar.

Timer

Admins can add a countdown timer to a room (⋮ → Set timer). When it runs out the room locks — no more votes or changes.

Sharing results

Tap ⋮ → Export results in a room to share the results as a message, a PDF, an Excel spreadsheet or a results image for social media. This is part of DoWeDontWe Pro.

Room settings

Tap ⋮ → Room settings to rename the room, change its type, set a budget or consensus threshold, duplicate, reset, archive or delete it. Changing a room's type keeps everyone's votes for each type — switch back and they're still there.

People and your account

Members

Tap ⋮ → Members (Room settings for admins) to see who's in the room. Tap someone to block them (you won't see their comments or activity) or report them. You can also report an item from its ⋮ menu, or a comment with its flag. Reports go to the room admins and the DoWeDontWe team. Admins can promote or remove members and choose approvers. Unblock people in Settings → Blocked members.

Your profile

Open Settings from your avatar to change your name, emoji and colour — it updates everywhere instantly. Sign in to keep your rooms safe and use them on more than one device.

Getting help

Something not working, or a question about your account or Pro? Settings → Report a problem sends it to the DoWe team, with your app version so we can find the bug. If it's about a room or an item, use Report a problem in the room's ⋮ menu or the item's menu instead — we'll know where to look, and you can choose to let us view that room for 7 days (read-only, only what you can see; stop it any time). Our reply appears in Settings → My requests — reply there to add more, or tap Mark solved. Can't open the app? Email support@optionalsalad.com.

Deleting your account

Settings → Delete account removes your account and data. You can also ask from the web — see Delete your account.

Getting help

Stuck, or found something that doesn't work? Email support@optionalsalad.com. See also the privacy policy and terms.