Getting started as a collector

Step by step

1. 1

   Open your profile and meet the tabs

   Tap the rightmost icon in the bottom bar — that's your profile. Across the top of your profile you'll see these tabs:

   • Collections — photos of work you've had done. Tap Add Post to add a new piece.
   • Bookmarks — every post you've saved. Use the filter button on the right to narrow by category.
   • Events — events you've shown interest in or joined.
   • Jobs — your job applications.

   When other people view your profile:

   • Collections and Bookmarks are visible by default.
   • Events are visible by default. You can hide them — globally or per-event — from Settings → Privacy and Visibility.
   • Jobs are always private to the account owner. Other people will never see this tab.
2. 2

   Browse the Feed and the Map

   Two tabs in your bottom bar are where you find people and posts: the Feed and the Map.

   The Feed shows posts grouped by category — Tattoo, Piercing, Permanent Makeup, Body Modification, Laser Removal — plus dedicated feeds for Studios and Collectors. Use the filter button at the top of any feed to narrow by style, color, placement, location, and more.

   You can also reorder or hide categories to put what you care about first. Tap the Edit button on the category strip — drag categories into your preferred order, hide any you don't want, then save.

   The Map shows studios as pins, with colored dots indicating which kinds of practitioners work inside. Tap a pin to open the studio's info, team, events, and job offers. Use the Map filters to find, for example, tattoo artists who do traditional and speak French near you.

3. 3

   Bookmark posts you might come back to

   Anywhere you see a post on InkMap, the bookmark icon saves it to your Bookmarks tab. In the tab, the filter button opens the same filter sheet the Feed uses (category, style, etc.).

   By default, client bookmarks are public — anyone visiting your profile can browse them. If you'd rather keep them private, open Settings → Privacy and Visibility and switch the bookmark visibility toggle.

4. 4

   Book a session with a practitioner

   Open any practitioner's profile and tap Book Now at the top. Two kinds of booking exist:

   • Tattoo artists and body modification practitioners — negotiation booking. You describe the project; they propose terms (date, duration, price, deposit). You can accept or counter-propose until everything is agreed.
   • Piercers, permanent makeup, and laser removal practitioners — direct booking. You pick a service and an open slot in their calendar.

   If the practitioner hasn't turned on online booking yet, Book Now shows an explainer instead. You can still reach them via the Message button on their profile.

5. 5

   Post your first piece

   When the session is done, you can post the result. From your Collections tab, tap Add Post. The form first asks you to pick a posting mode:

   • Showcase a piece — for one specific practitioner. You'll tag the practitioner who did the work, and they'll review the post before it goes public.
   • Collection / Model — for a full look, a model shoot, or a multi-artist piece. No practitioner tag. A moderator reviews the post before it goes public.

   Either path, the post enters review and you'll see its status in your Community Standing page. Once you reach the Trusted Collector tier (see the FAQ below), your future posts skip the review step.

6. 6

   Stay updated on the people and events you care about

   InkMap has three ways to follow what's happening, and they do different things.

   Follow a practitioner or studio. On any profile, tap Follow. Their posts will then appear in your Feed when you switch the feed mode from Discovery to Following (toggle at the top of any feed).

   Subscribe to news from a studio or tattoo artist. On studio and tattoo-artist profiles, you'll see a bell icon next to Follow. Tap it to pick what kind of news you want pushed to you. The options depend on who you're subscribing to:

   • On a studio — Event creation (when the studio announces a new event) and Job offers (when they post a new job).
   • On a tattoo artist — Guest spots (when they confirm a guest spot somewhere).

   The bell only appears on profiles that actually have something to broadcast. On other profiles (clients and other practitioner types) there's nothing pushed yet, so no bell.

   You can subscribe without following, and vice versa.

   Subscribe to a specific event. On any event card or event detail page, tap the bell icon. You'll get reminders before the event starts.

   To see everything you've subscribed to in one place, open the Notifications tab (bottom bar) and switch to the News subtab. There you'll find:

   • A Calendar view that lays out events, jobs, guest spots, and interview slots on a date grid. Toggle between Discovery mode (everything in your area) and Following mode (just things from people you've subscribed to).
   • An All / Events / Jobs / Guests list view for the same items in chronological order.
   • A settings icon that opens News Notification Settings — radius around your location, which event and job types to include, and reminder timing.

   For global push controls (turn pushes on or off, set quiet hours), open Settings → Push Notifications.

• The shield icon on your Collections tab opens Community Standing — your trust score, posts you've validated, and any warnings on your account.
• You can also reach Community Standing from Settings → Community Standing, or from Settings → Profile Settings → Community Moderation.
• You can run separate client and professional accounts side by side. From your profile, tap your username at the top to open the account switcher and add an existing account or create a new one.

Frequently asked questions

How do I become a Trusted Collector?

Trust is a numeric score. Once it reaches 10 points you become a Trusted Collector, and your future posts go live without review. You earn points mainly by posting work that gets approved (+1 per approved post), having posts that aren't reported during the post-safety window (+1), and through other community contributions tracked on your Community Standing page.

Why does my post say "pending validation"?

Until you're a Trusted Collector, every post you make is reviewed before it goes public. Showcase posts go to the practitioner you tagged — they confirm the work is theirs. Collection / Model posts go to a moderator. Watch the post's status from your Community Standing page.

Can I switch from a client account to a professional account?

No — account type is set when you create the account and can't be changed. If you want a professional account, create a new one with a different email. You can keep both accounts active and switch between them with the in-app account switcher (tap your username on your profile).

Will other people see what I've bookmarked?

By default yes — client bookmarks are public. To make yours private, go to Settings → Privacy and Visibility and switch the bookmark visibility toggle.

What's the difference between **Follow** and the bell icon on a profile?

Follow affects what shows up in your Feed (your "Following" feed mode shows posts from people you follow). The bell icon affects what shows up in your Notifications — specifically the News tab. They're independent: you can follow without subscribing, or subscribe without following.

Why don't I see a bell on every profile?

The bell only shows up on profiles that broadcast push-worthy news today. That's studios (event creation, job offers) and tattoo artists (guest spots). Piercers, permanent-makeup, body-modification and laser-removal practitioners — and other clients — don't currently emit notifications, so the bell is hidden there. If you want to keep up with someone in those categories, use Follow: their posts will appear in your Following feed.