Spaces are the next evolution of Community Groups. They’re designed to feel more intuitive and familiar for students, with a scrollable feed, threaded conversations and a more visually-rich experience.
Spaces are live and available to add into your Community, and already driving strong student engagement.
So, first things first - How are Spaces different from Groups?
Spaces introduce a more social, feed-style experience.
Conversations are organised into threads, so replies don’t get lost.
Find answers instantly: Search makes it easy to browse past discussions, reducing repetitive questions.
Students can like and comment, lowering the barrier to engagement.
Multiple conversations can happen at once without becoming chaotic.
The experience supports both real-time and asynchronous participation.
Community Spaces are built for sustained engagement, not just bursts of chat.
✨ What’s coming next ✨
Community Spaces is evolving quickly, with ongoing improvements focused on making the experience simpler, more intuitive, and more engaging for users. Read on to see what’s already live, and what’s coming next...
Now Live 9th June 2026
❗To use the new student-facing features below, Students and Ambassadors will need to update their Unibuddy app manually, or if auto-updates are enabled, it will update automatically via the App Store or Google Play❗
👤 View User Profile - Ambassadors
Ambassadors can now click on a name or profile photo from a post to view that user’s profile, making it easier to learn more about who’s contributing and connect with others in the community.
💌 Summarising content in Spaces
Weekly Digest emails will now include summaries of activity from Spaces, alongside existing community insights.
👥 View members list of Space
Users can view a full members list within a Space, and click through to see profiles and start conversations with other members.
📊 Polls
Admins can now create polls directly within posts in Spaces, giving communities an easy way to gather opinions, spark conversations, and encourage participation. Students and Ambassadors can then vote and engage with polls directly from the post, helping to create more interactive and engaging community discussions.
🔗 Clickable links in posts
Users can add clickable links directly within posts, making it easier for students to share helpful resources, recommend content, and support each other with useful information.
👀 Hide spaces from deactivated/archived Communities - live 9th June
Spaces belonging to deactivated Communities will now be hidden from users, ensuring they only see active and relevant community experiences.
🎯 Ambassador Spaces access - live 9th June
Ambassadors will now only see Spaces from Communities they are a member of, helping keep Community-specific activity separate and creating a more focused experience within the Ambassador App.
Coming Soon
📈 Analytics Dash to include Spaces
Spaces activity will be included within the headline metrics at the top of the Analytics Dashboard, providing a more complete view of overall community engagement. This will make reporting and performance tracking easier by incorporating key Spaces data into the main dashboard summary.
⏱️ Time tracking for Ambassador posts
Time tracking is currently available for private and direct messages within Communities. Time tracking is being introduced for Ambassadors when creating posts, helping universities to better understand and manage the time spent supporting students
📊 Ambassadors creating polls
Ambassadors will be able to create polls directly from the Ambassador App, making it easier to spark conversations and gather feedback from students within Spaces.
💡 "Requested" Spaces improvements
Requested Spaces will provide greater visibility into join requests. When a user requests access to a Space, their details will be visible within the university dashboard, and admins will receive an email notification. The requesting user will also be automatically added to the Space, removing the need for manual follow-up or approval.
🏷️ Admin/Ambassador tag on posts
Posts from Admins and Ambassadors will be clearly labelled, making it easier for students to identify trusted voices and know who they’re engaging with.
⛔️ Ability to leave a Space
Users will be able to leave a Space at any time, giving them more control over their Community experience.
Coming Later
🔔 Push Notifications (Inactivity)
Users will receive push notifications after 5 days of inactivity, helping to re-engage users and bring them back into the Community.
🔇 Mute notifications to a thread/post
Users will be able to mute notifications for specific posts or threads, giving them more control over the conversations they follow.
🤩 Copy text from a post
Users will be able to copy text directly from posts, making it easier to save, share, or reference useful information from conversations within Spaces.
👍 Ambassador post reactions
In the Unibuddy Ambassador App, Ambassadors will be able to add emoji reactions to posts.
🔔 Push notifications for due To-Do's
Users will receive push notifications for upcoming To-do's, including reminders one week before and one day before tasks are due.
📃 PDFs in posts
Admins and Ambassadors will be able to upload PDFs directly into posts, allowing them to share important resources, guides, and documents more easily within Spaces.
📝 Post Editing
Users will be able to edit their posts after sending.
💻 Spaces on Web (Ambassador Experience)
For now, Ambassadors will continue to access Spaces through the Unibuddy Ambassador app only, but web access for Ambassadors is planned.
How do I create a new Space?
Creating a new Space for your Community is quick and easy. Simply follow these steps:
Log into your University Dashboard
Navigate to the Community tab in the left-hand menu
Select the Community you'd like to add a new Space to
Go to the Spaces tab
Click + Create a space
Give your new Space a title, description, and a cover photo.
The upload limit for a cover photo is 15mb, and accepted formats are jpgs and .pngs.
Your title can be up to 200 characters - and should offer a clear and concise overview of what this Space is - i.e. Find a Roommate, or Life in Manchester.
Your description sets the scene - what can a student expect from this Space, and why should they join it?
Click Create space
🌐 Admins can also access Spaces via the web. This enables you to view and manage Spaces from your desktop, respond to posts, and oversee multiple Spaces.
What about my existing Community groups?
Your existing Community groups will not be affected. They will remain as Groups - but you will still be able to create Spaces, so your Community members can benefit. Students will still be able to find and join your current Groups.
You won't be able to create new Groups, but your existing Groups can still be managed in the Community tab within your University Dashboard - the tab will be relabelled as Spaces. Any Spaces you create will be displayed first in your dashboard, with Groups stacked underneath.
What does it look like if I have both Spaces and Groups in a Community?
Groups will remain editable, but new engagement will naturally shift towards Spaces.
This phased approach allows you to move at a comfortable pace without disrupting active Communities. Spaces will live under the Spaces tab, and Groups will still live under the Connect tab.
The below video shows that user experience for students in a Community with both Groups and Spaces.