How it works
Every mechanism, in detail
PodSwap is a reciprocal Instagram exchange with a matching engine behind it. These pages describe how each part actually works, with the real constants rather than adjectives.
How PodSwap decides who sees your Instagram post
LiveA weighted query ranks every waiting post. Follower bracket dominates, and niche refines.
- Exact bracket match
- +100,000
- Exact niche match
- +100
Live Rooms: why an exchange stays closed until enough creators arrive
LiveExchanges unlock on a headcount of creators who are around, and everyone in the room is granted free demand when they do.
- Grant formula
- floor(0.75 × (N−1))
- Unlock threshold
- 7 creators ready
Points: what an Instagram engagement costs on PodSwap
LiveEarn by engaging, spend to receive. One point buys five engagements, and every exchange keeps its own wallet.
- Free tier
- 7 actions = 1 point
- Point value
- 1 point = 5 engagements
The health score and how engagement disputes are resolved
LiveA 0–100 trust score decides whether your points land instantly or wait. It is keyed to the Instagram account, not the login.
- Starting score
- 100
- Instant tier
- 95+
Engagement disputes: reporting, proof and moderation
LiveA 24-hour clock, a right of reply, screenshot proof, and a human moderator with the final call.
- Response window
- 24 hours
- A report is filed
- -1 health on comments, -2 elsewhere
Engagement streaks, milestones and freezes
LiveA daily target that scales with your tier, milestone rewards that repeat every 100 days, and two freezes a week for the days life gets in the way.
- Daily target (Free)
- 7 engagements
- Milestone pattern
- repeats per 100 days
Growth Tracker: posting heatmaps and format performance
LiveA weekday-by-hour heatmap of your own engagement, plus a breakdown by content format and the tags that actually correlate with reach.
- Heatmap
- 7 × 24
- Formats compared
- 3
Referrals: earning points by bringing creators in
LivePoints for every creator who joins and actually participates, tracked per link and per source.
- Converts on
- participation
- Redeemable into
- any exchange
Reel Optimizer: captions and keywords for Instagram search
LiveRewrites a Reel caption for the keywords people actually search, without turning it into keyword soup.
- Works on
- Reel captions
- Hashtag ceiling
- 5
Bio SEO: making your Instagram profile findable
LiveRewrites your name field and bio around the terms people actually search, which is the part of a profile Instagram indexes.
- Optimises
- name + bio
- Searchable field
- name
PowerSwap: the exchange that is open when the rooms are shut
LiveOne session across every shipped exchange, at a better rate, whatever the hour.
- Open
- Whatever the hour
- Rotates
- Launched exchanges
When a Live Room opens, and who is told about it
LiveAnnounced openings are chosen for the waking hours of the creators holding seats, and notifications are capped rather than generous.
- Announced hours
- 19:00 UTC
- Minimum notice
- 2 hours
Members vote on which exchange ships next
LiveOne vote each, movable and withdrawable, on built-but-unshipped exchanges. The standings are public.
- Votes per member
- One
- Can be moved
- Yes
Instagram comment templates and model-written suggestions
LiveSave comments, organise them into groups, and have a model draft up to 50 for a post you describe. You post them yourself.
- Suggestions per request
- Up to 50
- Saved groups, free
- 10
The collaboration marketplace: orders, chat and reviews
LiveSend a creator an order paid in points, talk it through in a thread on the order, and review each other when it is done.
- Paid in
- Points
- Review dimensions
- 7
Notifications: every switch, and every cap that overrides them
LivePer-topic switches on three channels, quiet hours in your own timezone, and hard caps that apply whatever your settings say.
- Topics
- 5
- Channels
- 3
Getting started on PodSwap without a password
LiveSign in with a link, connect a handle, and prove you own it by leaving five real comments. No password at any point.
- Password
- None, anywhere
- Instagram API
- Not used
Rate limits: every rail, with the setting that sets it
LiveTikTok has ten rails, each published with its config key. Instagram carries the same mechanism with its numbers deliberately unset.
- Shared implementation
- One service, two config blocks
- Instagram daily cap
- Unset
The five exchanges
Each keeps its own point balance and its own Live Room threshold. Two leave a public trace and can be checked; three cannot, and are backed by the health score instead.
| Exchange | Room opens at | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Comments | 7 creators | A written comment is the highest-intent action on the board, and the one a passing reader is most likely to notice. |
| Shares | 7 creators | Sharing to a story puts your post in front of an audience that already chose to follow the sharer. |
| Saves | 7 creators | A save is the strongest indication that a post was worth coming back to later. |
| Follows | 7 creators | Deduped permanently — you can only follow an account once, so a pair is spent after a single exchange. |
| Stories | 7 creators | Pairwise dedup per calendar month ensures active cohort engagement without burning future pairs. |
Looking for the free tools rather than the mechanism? Browse the growth protocols, or read the glossary.