A map of the people around you — and the three decisions that keep it from leaking anybody’s address.
Around is the part of the YouPlanet app that shows, on a map, who is close to you. Everybody falls into a cell of a 700-metre grid and every person in one cell publishes the identical point, so no pin is anybody’s exact position. Distance is shown as a band, and you can narrow the map by age, radius, presence and shared interests.
Everyone inside one cell publishes the identical point. The scatter you see is for the eye only; the data never moves.
Under one kilometre, never 1.2. A decimal is three queries from three fake positions away from a home address — the bug the other apps shipped.
The app never asks for precise location. It is not in the manifest — we do not request what we would only throw away.
Age, radius, presence, shared interests, verified accounts only. The minimum age is eighteen and that one is not adjustable.
No. What is published is the cell’s point, not your coordinates — and everybody in that cell publishes the same one.
Yes. “Do not show my profile” in privacy settings takes you out of Around entirely. Separately, you can hide just your distance.
Around is in the app and needs an account. Explore and the profile pages on this site open without one.
Report and block are on the profile and in the conversation itself, and a report goes to a moderation queue rather than to a thank-you message.
YouPlanet