What's new

How it works reads better at the top8 Oct

The paragraph under the title was four lines on a computer with a stubby last line. It is now shorter and sits on two even lines: if you have experience worth sharing, open a page and get paid for the calls, and if you want advice, book a call with someone who has already done it. The two tabs do the rest of the explaining.

The log in page now says which page it is taking you back to8 Oct

Open a page that needs an account while logged out and the log in screen tells you why you are there: your saved heroes for Bookmarks, your payments for Billing, your settings for Settings. It used to say see your bookings whatever you had opened.

Opening a private page while logged out takes you to log in8 Oct

Billing, Bookmarks, My bookings, Settings and Reschedule used to show a panel asking you to log in. They now take you to the log in screen and bring you straight back to the page you wanted. One behaviour everywhere instead of two.

Notify me now asks you to sign in8 Oct

On a Coming soon hero page, telling us to let you know when they open now needs an account. You no longer type your email at all: we use the one on your account, and pressing it again just updates the same request rather than adding another. Signed out, you get Sign up for free and come straight back to the page afterwards. Why: anyone could write to that list before, including a script, which would have made it useless.

Log in and Sign up no longer open when you are already logged in8 Oct

If you open the log in, sign up or forgot password page while signed in, we take you straight back to where you were going instead of showing you a form you cannot use. Before, the sign up form would try to create a second account on top of the one you were already using.

Sign up now asks what you are here for8 Oct

Two buttons at the top of the sign up form: Be a hero, or I want advice. It is picked for you from where you came from, so signing up from a hero page or a booking starts on I want advice, and signing up from the home page starts on Be a hero. You can switch it before you create the account. It decides where you land afterwards and what the @handle box says, nothing else: it is one account either way, and you can open a page later from your account menu.

How it works: your side is now its own page8 Oct

The I want advice tab holds the whole seeker side on its own: the four steps, prices, what we check, how to be on a call, and every question about paying, moving a call and no-shows. Step one now says what actually happens: you open your hero's own link. The buttons that used to say Find a creator are gone, because heroes share their own link rather than being listed in a public directory.

Settings says less7 Oct

The notes under each Settings row are now one short line each, and the ones that just repeated the row are gone. Nothing moved and nothing was removed, it is only shorter to read. For heroes, the Based in row now says plainly that it is shown on your hero page, because it is.

Hero pages show where a hero is based7 Oct

A hero page now shows the country the hero is based in, with its flag, beside the languages they speak. Your own country is never shown to anyone: Settings stays private.

Settings explains itself better7 Oct

The notes under each Settings row now say what the thing is actually for, and they say something different depending on whether you book calls or give them. Based in and Timezone are explained as two separate things: where you live, and when you are free. They do not have to match, so a trip abroad only changes your timezone.

Settings has a Based in row7 Oct

Settings now shows which country you are based in, under your mobile number. We fill it in from your dialling code and you can change it any time. Private, like the rest of Settings. It helps us with times and, later, the language we show you.

We ask for your mobile number when you book7 Oct

On the Review and pay step you now add a mobile number, once. We keep it on your account, so the next booking has it already filled in, and you can change it any time in Settings under Mobile number. It is only for the LalaHero team, to reach you about a call, a refund or a report. Your hero never sees it.

Sign up asks for a proper name and a stronger password7 Oct

The Full name box on sign up now has the same rule as the one in Settings: 2 to 60 characters, at least one letter, and no web addresses or odd symbols. Names like Vasanthi A/P Ramasamy and Nur Syakinah binti Abdullah still pass. The password must now be at least 8 characters with a letter and a number, the same rule Google users already got when adding a password. Your @handle is unchanged: 3 to 20 characters, and still permanent.

If your hero has an emergency6 Oct

When a hero can't make a call that is close, you now see a pink alert on the call in My bookings with a countdown (in hours when under two days). You pick a new time, free. If the call was less than 24 hours away, you can also take a refund of the call price to the way you paid, straight away (the booking fee isn't refunded), and you have 3 days to choose. If you do neither in time, the call becomes LalaHero credit.

Past calls: Details is easier to find6 Oct

On a computer, a past or cancelled call in My bookings now has its Details button on the right, under the status label, so you can find it at a glance. On a phone it stays at the bottom of the card.

Back links are now proper buttons6 Oct

The Back to My bookings link on the reschedule page, and Back to the hero's profile on the booking page, are now round buttons with an arrow, the same as the Back buttons in Admin and Team.

Refund messages say exactly where your money goes6 Oct

Messages about a refund now name how you paid: your credit card, your debit card or your bank account (online banking). If we don't know yet, they say the way you paid. Refunds to a bank account usually take up to 14 days to show, so the message says that instead of the card timing.

Bookmark heroes5 Oct

The bookmark on a hero's page and in the list now works. Tap it to bookmark a hero, tap again to remove them. Your bookmarks are in your account menu under Bookmarks. You need to be logged in to bookmark.

Billing: your payments and PDF receipts5 Oct

A new Billing page in your account menu lists every payment, with a Receipt PDF to download for each. While payments are in test mode the receipts are marked TEST.

Cancel a booking you have not paid for5 Oct

The Pay for your call alert now has a Cancel button next to Complete payment. Tap it, then Yes, cancel it, and the time is let go. Nothing was charged. The My bookings page also now keeps its intro and your time zone on one line on a computer.

Clearer booking rules5 Oct

Moving a booking now says "No charges until..." and gives the hours (before the notice time, between the notice time and 24 hours, and inside 24 hours). The no-show rule says to join up to 5 minutes early, that you and your hero each wait 5 minutes, and to report a no-show to us. If a hero cancels, the full call price comes back to your card and only the booking fee is kept.

Booking is simpler: no session type to pick5 Oct

You choose how long and in which language, then write what you want to talk about. Your topic now also shows in the Add to calendar button.

Add your call to your calendar in one tap5 Oct

In the details of an upcoming call, right under the time, there is now an Add to calendar button, so the call sits in your calendar with a reminder before it starts.

See how long you have to pick a new time5 Oct

When a hero moves your call, the alert now shows a pill such as "3 days left" beside the Pick a new time button, and it turns solid pink in the last 3 days. The wording is also plainer: choose a new time and it costs you nothing.

Moving a call late is now paid on Stripe4 Oct

If you move a call inside your hero's notice window, you pay the reschedule fee (30% of the call price plus the RM1 booking fee) on Stripe first. Your call moves as soon as the payment is in, and the new time is held while you pay. If the time can't be kept, the whole payment goes back to your card. If your hero cancels, the reschedule fee is returned with the call price.

Moving a call late: fee noted, not charged yet4 Oct

While we test, a late move shows the fee and records it, but nothing is taken from your card. The button now says Reschedule my call.

Refunded calls now say so on My bookings4 Oct

A call whose price went back to your card now shows Refunded and the amount returned, instead of Confirmed and the full price. A call the hero cancelled no longer says LalaHero credit when the money went back to your card.

Clearer refund messages after a hero cancels4 Oct

A call your hero cancelled now says it has been refunded to your card, instead of saying credit. The refund box separates what is already refunded from what you asked for, and a cancelled call no longer says it was your first call with that hero.

If a hero cancels, your money goes back to your card4 Oct

When a hero cancels a paid booking, the call price is now refunded to the card you paid with straight away, with no need to ask. The RM1 booking fee is not refunded. Your bank decides when it shows, often within 5 to 10 working days.

Rescheduling rules, with your dates, before you pay4 Oct

The review step now spells out the rescheduling rules for the time you picked: free until a date, a fee after it, and no rescheduling at all inside 24 hours of the call. The same line is on your booking, the confirmation, the rules pop-up and the calendar invitation.

Your booking opens when you come back from paying4 Oct

After you pay, you land on My bookings with the details of your call already open: the time, your Meet link and what to do next. There is also a Details button on the green note.

Add your own photo4 Oct

In Settings you can now add, change or remove the small round photo beside your name. Signed up with Google? It starts with your Google photo. Your username is now called your @handle, the address of your page.

Your time is held while you book4 Oct

The moment you tap a time, it is held for you, with a 20-minute clock on screen, so no one else can book it while you fill in the details and pay. That is 20 minutes in total to finish and pay. If the clock runs out the time is let go and you can pick again.

Reschedule up to twice, free when it is early4 Oct

You can now move a booking twice. A move is free until your hero's notice time before the call (usually 3 days). After that, until 24 hours before the call, a move costs 30% of the call price plus the RM1 booking fee. Inside 24 hours a booking can't be moved. A free first call always moves free.

Ask for a refund inside My bookings4 Oct

If something went wrong on a paid call, open it in My bookings and tap Request a refund within 3 days after the call. Pick what went wrong and tell us what happened. We check it and the answer shows on the same call. No email is needed.

Refund Policy is now written4 Oct

The Refund Policy page in the footer now says when you get your money back (hero cancels or does not come, a fault on our side, a double payment), when you do not (no-show, leaving early, the RM1 booking fee), what happens if you pay late, how LalaHero credit works and how to ask for a refund.

Terms and Privacy now read like a proper policy3 Oct

The Terms page no longer shows a code error. Both pages are rewritten in the usual layout of major services and Malaysian practice: who can use LalaHero, payments, refunds and credit, recordings, conduct, hero terms, liability, how your personal data is collected, used, shared and kept, your rights under the PDPA.

Terms and Privacy pages are now written3 Oct

The Terms and Privacy pages in the footer now explain, in plain words, how booking, paying, moving a call and no-shows work, that every call is recorded and owned by LalaHero, and how to ask for your own recording to be deleted. The tick box when you book, and the one on the Hero application, now say the same in short.

Clearer wording after you reschedule3 Oct

After you reschedule, the message no longer says payments are switched off. It says the fee is recorded on your booking and that nothing is charged to a card in test mode. The LalaHero credit note on My bookings also no longer says payments are off.

Tidier last step of booking3 Oct

On the last step of booking, the line about the calendar invitation no longer breaks into gaps around your email address. It now reads as one sentence.

We now tell you to tap Yes on the invitation3 Oct

The last step of booking, the payment confirmation and the invitation itself now ask you to tap Yes or Add to calendar when the invitation arrives. Gmail can warn about an unknown sender the first time, and tapping Yes keeps the call on your calendar with reminders.

The home page is now in Bahasa Malaysia and Chinese2 Oct

Use the globe button at the top to read the home page in English, 简体中文 or Bahasa Malaysia. If your browser is set to Chinese or Malay we will offer it once, and nothing switches by itself. The other pages are still in English for now.

Clearer invitation title2 Oct

The calendar invitation is now titled like "LalaHero 15-min call: Andrew Lee + Jane Lakshmi Lim", so you see how long to block before opening it. New invitations only.

The invitation now tells you how to prepare2 Oct

The calendar invitation now has three short sections: before the call (get ready 15 minutes early, check camera, microphone and internet, quiet spot, write down your questions), during the call (be kind, start with your main question, the call is recorded) and running late (the other person waits 5 minutes, then it counts as a no-show). It ends with links to your booking and to the FAQ. New invitations only; ones already sent stay as they were.

The calendar invitation says everything2 Oct

The invitation now lists the hero, the seeker, the type, length and language of the call and what you want to discuss, and reminds you to join with the same email and that the call is recorded. It also has a link to reschedule or cancel. You and the hero cannot see each other's email address on it.

Your Google Meet link arrives by email2 Oct

Once a call is confirmed, we email a Google Calendar invitation with the Meet link to you and the hero, and the link also shows on My bookings. Join with the same email address the invitation went to. If the time changes or the call is cancelled, the invitation follows.

Calls are recorded, and you agree first2 Oct

The last step of booking now has a tick box: every call is recorded to protect you and the hero, and to check any report or refund request. You tick it before you can confirm.

Pay button says Processing2 Oct

After you press Continue to payment, the button now says Processing and stays grey until the payment page opens, so it is clear something is happening.

Long topics fit on small screens2 Oct

When you pick what you want to talk about, long topic names now wrap onto a second line instead of running under the price box.

One box for what needs you2 Oct

On My bookings, everything that needs you now sits in one box at the top: unpaid calls, times that were released, calls to reschedule. Each line has its own button.

Pay within 10 minutes2 Oct

When you book a paid call, please pay within 10 minutes. If you don't, the time goes back to the hero and My bookings tells you when you log back in. If you pay late and the time has gone, you pick another date and time for the same price.

Paid calls are marked2 Oct

Calls you have paid for now show a Paid tag on My bookings, so you can see at a glance they are confirmed.

Share a hero's page2 Oct

Hero pages now have a Share button with the network logos next to each name, so you can send a profile to a friend in one tap.

Forgot your password?2 Oct

Log in now has a Forgot password link. Enter your email and we send you a link to set a new one.

Pay by card or online banking2 Oct

Paid calls now go to a secure payment page. You choose card or online banking there, and your time is held for 10 minutes while you pay. This is test mode for now, so no real money moves.

Your full name, and a display name for heroes2 Oct

Settings now shows your Full name with an Edit button. It is private: it helps heroes and seekers address each other and lets us check payouts. Heroes keep a separate Display name for their page, changed when they edit their profile. Log in is by email (or Google).

A calmer log in page2 Oct

The log in page no longer jumps into the email box. Continue with Google stays the first thing you see.

Search suggests as you type2 Oct

Start typing in any search box and a short list of matching heroes and topics drops down. Pick one to go straight there.

Reschedule, not move1 Oct

Everywhere on the site, changing the time of a call now says Reschedule. Bookings on phones are also tighter, with the date in a short row and smaller summary cards.

Photo viewer closes properly on phones1 Oct

On some iPhones the X on a hero's photos could not be tapped. It works now, and the bottom bar on hero pages is slimmer.

A place to see what is new1 Oct

You are looking at it. We will add a short note here whenever we improve something you can notice. Look for the pink New tag.

Featured heroes stand out1 Oct

Heroes we recommend now carry a Featured tag on their card and on their profile.

Find your creator takes you straight to the search1 Oct

On the home page, the Find your creator button now slides down to the search box and is ready for you to type.

Reschedule your call once30 Sep

You can reschedule a booking once, up to the hero's notice time. A free first call can be rescheduled at no cost. Calls can't be cancelled, because the hero has kept that time for you.

If a hero has to cancel30 Sep

You are told why. You get credit by default, or your money back to the way you paid if you ask. The RM1 booking fee is the only part not returned.