For people, and the institutions they need answers from
Ask in public. Get an answer on the record.
Aura is a social app for everyday life where anyone can ask a question or raise an issue in public, and the institution it concerns answers as itself, on the record, with a date when it commits.
Free for the public, permanently. Institutions pay by the staff who speak for them.
Two sides of one place
The public brings the question. The institution brings the answer.
For people
- Post, follow, chat, and call in audio or video
- Ask a question or raise an issue, and see who answered
- Read and write in every script and language, right to left included
- Translation, AI writing help and calls, free within a daily fair use
For institutions
- Questions about your work reach you by topic
- Answer as the institution, from one Desk, beside what you said before
- Commit with a date the public can see, and keep to it
- A public record of what you answered, committed and resolved
How it works
One question, from the public to the record.
Someone asks, in public
A resident asks why the consultation summary is three weeks late. Anyone can read it.
It reaches the Desk
The question arrives on the institution's Desk by topic, oldest first, with everything else waiting.
Answered as the institution
Written beside the question, with what was said before in view, and a due date when it commits.
Kept on the record
The asker sees who answered. The public sees the commitment and whether it was kept.
Built for your kind of institution
Seven kinds of institution, each with its own public.
You choose your kind when you set up. Aura then uses your public's own name, asks for the proof that fits you, and puts your tools in the order you use them.
Plans
Free for the public. Institutions pay by seat.
A seat is a person who speaks for the institution. Your community and followers are unlimited on every plan, and verification is never for sale.
Community
Clubs, congregations, small nonprofits
- 3 staff seats
- Official answers and commitments
- Meetings and members
Organisation
Schools, firms, larger nonprofits
- 15 staff seats
- Everything in Community
- A larger monthly allowance for AI help and translation
Public body
Cities, townships, agencies
- Unlimited staff seats
- By population served: $4,900, $9,900 or $14,900 a year
- Invoice on request
Yearly billing costs ten months. Nonprofits and schools receive 25% off. Extra allowance: 1,000 for $19 or 5,000 for $79, and it never expires. Plans are bought on the web.
| What institutions use | What it is for | Where Aura differs |
|---|---|---|
| Aura | Questions from the public, answered on the record | One place where the public asks and the institution answers as itself |
| A Facebook page | Posting to followers | A question gets a marked official answer that stays on the record, not a comment thread |
| Nextdoor for Public Agencies | Announcements to neighbourhoods | Residents ask, and the answer is dated and kept |
| Granicus, CivicPlus | Websites, notices and service requests | Published prices, and the conversation happens in public |
| An email inbox | Answering one person at a time | The answer helps everyone with the same question |
Questions institutions ask
Before you set up
Who can speak for our institution?
Only people you give a seat: owners, admins and those you grant official voice. Holding a role is not the same as speaking for it; an official answer is a separate act.
How is an institution verified?
By proof that it exists and that the person setting it up has authority, reviewed by a person. Verification is free and never sold, and a plan cannot buy or remove it.
What happens to questions we do not answer?
They stay on your Desk, oldest first, and you are reminded. Your public record shows what you answered and the commitments you made, including any that are overdue.
Do people pay anything?
No. Aura is free for the public, permanently, including translation, AI writing help and calls, within a daily fair use.
Which languages work?
Every script, right to left included. A post can be read in the reader's own language, with the original kept.
See a question become an answer on the record.
Investors: the company overview is at company.auraplatform.org.