# Frequently Asked Questions

Open a question to read its answer. Use **Open all answers** before searching this page with your browser’s find command. Direct links open the matching answer; all answers remain in the <a href="/faq.md" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Markdown version</a>. If your question is not here, ask in the [Green Goods community on Discord](https://discord.gg/greenpill).

## Getting started

### What is Green Goods? {#what-is-green-goods}

A way for communities to document their regenerative work, have it reviewed by someone who knows it, and show it to the people who fund that kind of work. [How It Works](/community/how-it-works) tells the whole story in a few minutes.

### Does a garden have to be an actual garden? {#does-a-garden-have-to-be-an-actual-garden}

No. A garden is a community doing regenerative work together in one place. The word is a picture of something people tend over time. A solar team, a waste crew, a tree-planting group, and a class can each be a garden.

### Which Green Goods do I open? {#which-green-goods-do-i-open}

There are three, and they do different jobs.

- **The website**, [greengoods.app](https://greengoods.app): read about gardens and their work, and support them. No account needed.
- **The app**: installed on your phone from the website. Join a garden, document work, and follow it through review.
- **The steward dashboard**, [admin.greengoods.app](https://admin.greengoods.app): for stewards and evaluators running a garden. Best on a computer.

### Is it free? Do I need crypto? {#is-it-free-do-i-need-crypto}

Documenting work is free, and you do not need crypto. Most people sign in with a passkey, which is your fingerprint, face, or screen lock, and Green Goods covers the network fees for passkey accounts.

You need crypto in two cases: if you choose to sign in with your own wallet, you pay your own network fees, and if you want to give money to a garden, you give from a wallet.

### Does it work without internet? {#does-it-work-without-internet}

Recording work does. Your work is saved on your phone and you send it when you have a signal, by tapping **Upload all** in **Your Work**. Installing the app, signing in, and sending all need a connection. See [Install and Update](/community/gardener-guide/installing-and-updating).

### What languages is it in? {#what-languages-is-it-in}

The app is in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. Change it under **Profile**, on the **Account** tab, in the **Language** row. These docs are in English only for now.

## My account

### How do I sign in without a password? {#how-do-i-sign-in-without-a-password}

With a passkey. When you tap **Create Account**, your phone saves a passkey for you, and you unlock it with your fingerprint, face, or screen lock. You choose a name when you create the account. Keep that name somewhere safe.

### I have a new phone. How do I get my account back? {#i-have-a-new-phone-how-do-i-get-my-account-back}

Tap **Already have an account?**, enter your account name, and tap **Sign in with Passkey**. This works when your passkey traveled with you, which it usually does if the new phone is signed in to the same Apple or Google account as the old one.

### I lost my phone, and my passkey was not saved anywhere else. Can you restore my account? {#i-lost-my-phone-and-my-passkey-was-not-saved-anywhere-else-can-you-restore-my-account}

No. Nobody can, including the Green Goods team. An account is unlocked only by its passkey. Your past work stays on the public record, and you would start again with a new account. This is why it matters to keep your passkey backed up with your Apple or Google account.

### Why did my gardens and my work disappear? {#why-did-my-gardens-and-my-work-disappear}

Check that you signed in to the same account. A passkey account and a wallet are two separate accounts, and so are two different wallets. Sign in the way you did before, and they come back.

## My work

### Is my work safe if I lose signal? {#is-my-work-safe-if-i-lose-signal}

Work you finish recording is saved on this phone and waits in **Your Work** until you send it. Keep the app installed and do not clear its data. Do not record it a second time. [Recover Unsent Work](/community/gardener-guide/recovery-and-sync) explains each label you might see.

### Why has my work not been reviewed yet? {#why-has-my-work-not-been-reviewed-yet}

Review is done by the stewards of your garden, and there is no fixed time. Green Goods does not send alerts, so message your steward. Do it sooner if the action is about to close: a steward can only decide while the action is still open.

### My work was rejected. What now? {#my-work-was-rejected-what-now}

Open it in **Your Work**, on the **Completed** tab, and read **Review feedback**. Fix what it names, then submit the work again as a new submission. The rejected one cannot be edited. See [Track Your Work](/community/gardener-guide/track-status-and-attestations#if-it-is-rejected).

### Can I edit or delete something I submitted? {#can-i-edit-or-delete-something-i-submitted}

No. Once work is sent it is part of the garden's permanent public record, and so is the steward's decision. You can delete a draft, or work that is still waiting on your phone, before it is sent.

### Will I be paid when my work is approved? {#will-i-be-paid-when-my-work-is-approved}

Not automatically. Approval and payment are separate, and nothing is paid when a steward approves.

Many gardens have a shared fund that gardeners can claim from, in the app, under **Your Wallet** on the **Cookies** tab. What it is for, and how much you can claim, is up to your garden. Ask your steward. See [How gardeners get rewarded](/community/gardener-guide/track-status-and-attestations#how-gardeners-get-rewarded).

## Promises

### Why can I not take up a promise? {#why-can-i-not-take-up-a-promise}

If you created the offer or request, you do not take it up yourself; wait for someone else. Otherwise, check that you are using the account that joined the garden, that its pool is open, and that someone else has not already taken it up. An action already waiting to send can also hide the button. **Ask to take this up** waits for a steward; it is not an accepted promise yet. See [your part in a promise](/community/gardener-guide/keep-a-promise#take-it-up-or-join-its-team).

### Who confirms a promise was kept? {#who-confirms-a-promise}

Usually the person receiving the help: whoever takes up an offer, or the person who made a request. A promise can name a group and require more than one confirmation. The provider and contributing team cannot confirm their own promise, even as stewards. Read the [confirmation step](/community/gardener-guide/confirm-a-promise#steps).

### My work was approved. Why is the promise still waiting? {#approved-work-promise-still-waiting}

The work must be linked to the right requirement and its approval counted. Other required work or an assessment may still be missing. When those are complete, the eligible confirmer still has to confirm the promise. Ask your steward about an approval waiting to be counted; do not submit the same work again. See [work for a promise](/community/gardener-guide/track-status-and-attestations#work-for-a-promise).

### Can I withdraw a promise? {#can-i-withdraw-a-promise}

The creator can withdraw an offer or request before someone takes it up, when **Withdraw This** is offered. It needs a connection and a reason. Once it is taken up, ask your steward about the existing record. Withdrawal is not a universal undo. See [promise recovery](/community/gardener-guide/make-a-promise#if-something-goes-wrong).

### What happens to a promise action without internet? {#promise-without-internet}

Read the action's status: some actions save on this phone, while joining a team, withdrawing, and choosing **Send to the Stewards** after **Not Yet** need a connection. An unsent explanation stays on this phone; the promise enters steward review only after sending succeeds. A saved action has not arrived yet. Keep its existing record and use the send or retry control it offers; do not create a duplicate. See [promise actions waiting on this phone](/community/gardener-guide/recovery-and-sync#promise-actions-waiting-on-this-phone).

### Does kept mean paid? {#does-kept-mean-paid}

No. Kept records that the required confirmation arrived. The 2.0 release defers new money-reward promises and settlement payouts. Existing payment histories can remain readable, but a pending transfer is not money received. Donations and endowments remain separate ways to [support a garden](/community/funder-guide/).

## Privacy

### Is what I upload private? {#is-what-i-upload-private}

No. Treat everything you submit as public and permanent.

- **Your photos, videos, and voice notes** are stored on a public network. Anyone who has the link to a file can open it, and a file cannot be deleted once it is uploaded.
- **Your work record** is public: the action, your notes and details, and links to your files. So is the steward's decision.
- **Approved work is shown on your garden's page** on the public website, with its photos and notes.
- **Your name:** the page shows your account's name if it has one, and "Garden participant" if it does not. Your account address is part of the record either way.

Only add what you are comfortable making public.

### Does my photo give away where I am? {#does-my-photo-give-away-where-i-am}

Green Goods does not add your location unless you turn on **Share Location** when you submit. If you do, an approximate location, to about 100 meters, is published with the work.

Separately, your phone's camera may save details inside a photo, such as the time and sometimes the place. The app does not reliably remove these. If that matters to you, turn off location tagging in your camera before you take photos for Green Goods.

### What should I keep out of my photos? {#what-should-i-keep-out-of-my-photos}

Anything you would not put on a public notice board: people who have not agreed to be photographed, children's faces, identity documents, house numbers, license plates, and anything that shows where someone lives. Point the camera at the work.

### What does Green Goods record about how I use it? {#what-does-green-goods-record-about-how-i-use-it}

The app and the website record how they are used and any errors that happen, so the team can find and fix problems. When you are signed in, this is linked to your account address. There is no setting in the app to turn it off.

If you subscribe to the newsletter on the website, Green Goods also has the email address you gave.

## Money

### Where does my donation go? {#where-does-my-donation-go}

Into the shared fund of the garden you chose. The garden's gardeners can claim from it, within limits the garden sets, and each claim records what it is for. See [Donate to a Garden](/community/funder-guide/donating-to-a-garden).

### Can I get my donation back? {#can-i-get-my-donation-back}

No. A donation is a gift, and Green Goods has no way to return it.

### Is an endowment safe? Can I lose money? {#is-an-endowment-safe-can-i-lose-money}

You can lose money. An endowment is a deposit you can withdraw, and it is not guaranteed. It is lent out to earn for the garden, and if that goes badly you can get back less than you put in, or have to wait to withdraw. Read [what you are agreeing to](/community/funder-guide/funding-a-garden#what-you-are-agreeing-to) before you deposit.

### Is giving through Green Goods tax-deductible? {#is-giving-through-green-goods-tax-deductible}

Green Goods does not promise a charitable receipt, nonprofit backing or a tax deduction. A garden may have a separate arrangement; check it directly with the garden before relying on it.

### Can I give with a card? {#can-i-give-with-a-card}

Not today. You give from a crypto wallet, using DAI or WETH on the Arbitrum network.

### Who pays the network fees? {#who-pays-the-network-fees}

If you signed in with a passkey, Green Goods covers them. If you connected your own wallet, you pay them, so keep a little ETH on the Arbitrum network.

## Stewards and evaluators

### How do I become a steward? {#how-do-i-become-a-steward}

Open the [steward dashboard](https://admin.greengoods.app), sign in, and tap **Request Steward Access**. Or send your account address to someone who already runs the garden and ask them to add you. See [Get steward access](/community/steward-guide/#get-steward-access).

### Can I create a new garden? {#can-i-create-a-new-garden}

Only with deployer access, which the Green Goods team gives out. Ask in the [community on Discord](https://discord.gg/greenpill). See [Create a Garden](/community/steward-guide/creating-a-garden).

### Can I undo an approval or a rejection? {#can-i-undo-an-approval-or-a-rejection}

No. A decision is permanent. If you rejected good work, ask the gardener to submit it again and approve that one. See [Review Work](/community/steward-guide/reviewing-work).

### Why can I not approve this work? {#why-can-i-not-approve-this-work}

One of three reasons. You submitted it yourself, so another steward has to review it. The action it was submitted under has closed, so no decision can be recorded. Or you do not have the steward or owner role in that garden.

### What can an evaluator do? {#evaluator}

Write assessments: a garden's starting point, its goals, and what it will measure. An evaluator cannot approve or reject work, manage members, or handle funds. See the [Evaluator Guide](/community/evaluator-guide/).

<a id="what-can-people-use-right-now-and-what-is-still-being-built"></a>[Reference](/community/how-it-works)
<a id="is-green-goods-open-source-how-do-i-run-it-or-contribute"></a>[Reference](/builders/getting-started)

## Still stuck?

- **Something will not install, update, or load:** see [Install and Update](/community/gardener-guide/installing-and-updating#if-something-goes-wrong).
- **Work will not send:** see [Recover Unsent Work](/community/gardener-guide/recovery-and-sync).
- **Anything else:** ask in the [Green Goods community on Discord](https://discord.gg/greenpill). In the app, open **Profile**, then the **Help** tab for the gardener guide.