FAQ

OYFS is a recovery network for people navigating layoffs, automation, and industry change. It's part professional network, part daily check-in system, part support community. Members create a profile, send a daily Pulse to stay visible, and support each other through upvotes, connections, mentorship, and encouragement.

Yes — joining, sending Pulses, browsing the feed, and supporting other members is free. We don't sell data and we don't run ads. If we ever introduce paid tiers, they'll be optional and clearly explained.

LinkedIn is a marketplace optimized for the people doing well. OYFS is built for the moment between roles — when staying visible and supported matters more than performing success. The Pulse system, the recovery feed, and the explicit "Affected" and "Open to work" signals exist because we wanted a place where being mid-search is the default, not something to hide.

A Pulse is a daily check-in. One short signal that you're still here, still searching, still building, and still open to support, opportunities, or mentorship. Sending a Pulse keeps your profile visible in the recovery feed for the day.

Common Pulse signals: Affected by layoffs, Actively searching, Open to freelance work, Available for mentorship, Recently hired.

If you stop checking in or mark yourself as hired, your profile gracefully leaves the active recovery feed and transitions into the recovered network — a quieter record of members who've moved on. You can always come back and resume sending Pulses if you need the network again.

By default, your profile is visible to other signed-in members. You can hide your profile from search, limit who can connect, or make yourself visible to mentors only. You always control what's on your profile and what signal your Pulse carries.

We collect the minimum needed to run the network: your account info, profile content, and the Pulses you send. We don't sell data to third parties. We don't run behavioral ads. You can export everything or delete your account at any time.

Yes — and you should. An upvote, an introduction, an encouragement message, or a recommendation from outside someone's field is often the thing that breaks them out of a slow week. Cross-industry support is one of the most valuable signals in the network.

Mark yourself as Recently hired first — it signals momentum to the feed and lets people who supported you celebrate. After that, many members stay around as mentors. The network works because hired members keep showing up for the next person.

Go to Settings → Account → Delete account. Your profile, Pulses, and connections are removed within 30 days. If you change your mind during that window, signing in again will cancel the deletion.

OYFS is a community project. One developer started it; the community of members helps build, maintain, and keep it alive — through bug reports, mentor offers, contributions, and showing up for each other. There's no company behind it. See the About page for the longer story.