To properly make this work you need to download the app, enter a bunch of information, go to settings to disable sleep mode, not touch your phone and also not have it accidentally swipe away from the app.
Seems like the (only?) target audience for this would hardcode networkers going to network events. And honestly, I think people who go to a event like this don't have this problem of missing a connection they wanted.
I don't think the business events is realistic. It would have to be huge, generic, and have a huge amount of people be very specific with their wants-and-needs, on top of the technical issues I brought up earlier.
Speed dating is called speed dating for a reason, you're supposed to be forced to meet everyone. Probably takes more time to setup yet another dating profile than it takes to simply go through the process.
From what I read on 222, their entire purpose is to get away from algorithms, apps, and whatnot.
Timeleft has, according to their landing page, six people per activity.
I don't mean to discourage, by the way. It's neat tech, I personally just don't see where it could best be used.
EDIT: I could see speed dating have some sort of "prompt" build on top of this. Say the app is rebranded to "SpeedDater" and the organizers said to download it. Then while in the event itself, the apps could give prompts or fun stuff to talk about in realtime, and then later you could eg. say yes/no after the fact, at which point the matches are unlocked. Not sure this requires the local-thing though.
222 and timeleft you start in groups of 5 or 6, but then there is the "after party" with all those small groups combined. That's where this idea first came from. I was at one of those after parties and I was like wait and sec, it's 2025 why does this feel exactly like how we did this in 1980s?
Bad actors in the mobile space have ruined so many potential good uses of smartphones due to the restrictions that have had to be put into place.
Do I want random f2p mobile games broadcasting my personal info 24/7 as a never killable background process? No. But sometimes I do want 24/7 stuff running!
OP's app is a great example. Technically doable but not allowed because of how locked down mobile phones are.
This should all work fine on Android right? you can start a service that still uses Bluetooth in the background, you just need a notification to keep the service alive.
This kind of thing goes all the way back to "beaming" between Palm Pilots, in 1998.[1]
Apple added "knocking", which they called called NameDrop, a few years ago. You bang two phones together and the simultaneous acceleration tells them to talk over NFC.
But apparently Apple has gradually been locking down that feature because it's used to help organize protests.[2] Can't have that.
Well the idea is you are talking at event and one of you gets pulled in another direction there is no akward "hey wait I didn't get your..." you just move on and know you have that info already. The QR still requires that little action. Did you get the bluetooth working reliably in 2016? I don't mean for this to sound snarky but coding this in 2025 I kept thinking "omg without AI's help I never would have got this solid."
How frequently does this case scenario realistically come up?
I attend a lot of events, and most of the time, I just quickly whip out my phone and scan the QR code (which is usually on a lanyard around their neck).
We can both acknowledge the action taking place (which I believe is important for spam prevention / security / politeness), follow up later, and it takes 1/2 seconds. With this, I would be walking around wondering if the connection was saved or not and checking my phone, which is about the same time cost as just scanning the QR code.
The business card exchange or QR code scan exchange, I think, is important to create a legitimate link. I hate it when I go to events and people scan my QR code from a distance to hit me with cold calls and spam later (usually flip it the other way while not interacting with potential clients), which is sort of how this idea sounds, but weighted towards the spammers side.
this is good feedback. I think there are others though that are on the side of too shy didn't make that connect and leave the event with 0. And it really matters the type of event business vs. dating. If you install the 222.place app and do their questionaire you'll see the direction I'm thinking of really asking "_who_ do you want to broadast _what_ information too."
Interesting from a technical point of view. But the real problem to solve here is buried in this throwaway at the end, and it even suggests that this is entirely the wrong tech for the job:
> So the way I see auraphone working at an event, you walk around and mingle as normal but yeah every one has their phone out and running the app but ONLY this app. You are still present and in the conversation not just looking at other distractions from your phone.
What is so magic about this app that it will make your phone not be a distraction? And how do you get everyone to download a new app? And if you can get them to do that, why not just exchange the info through a normal server? Then you could literally just tell the app which event you’re at (and sure, use Bluetooth for that, but a QR code or even just a link would probably work better) and then they don’t need to walk around with the app open.
bluetooth proves you were physically there. also no cell tower or wifi issues. this app purposely has no backend! truly decentralized. If i used a normal server I would have to just trust the gps sent? And even if I could trust that, bluetooth lets me know who is closet within feet. The list of devices shows you by who is at the top, who you are nearest.
It is a chicken and egg problem for sure. Will enough people install the app and will people keep it open and in foreground often enough. I need real event with like 100 people to test :)
well which specific piece, your instagram username is very different than your phone number right? And depends on the event. Is it speed-dating or tech conference? You can chose what to broadcast. If you are at the event, you have some goal of who you want to meet. Long term in the app I want to let you give more info about that and then filter the list for you. Help you find your people.
I understand all this, but it still feels like a solution in search of a problem. Why does it matter that it is decentralized? There are simpler ways to reasonably prove you were there. Scan a QR code taped to the wall, use a WiFi beacon, get a unique code, tap a link in their invitation, ticket, whatever else is used as admission, or use Bluetooth for that matter. But exchanging the data by Bluetooth and requiring everyone to have their phones out, and thinking that it won’t be a distraction for some reason… that’s the part I don’t understand.
Well having no backend is also a cost thing. I can scale this to millions and my fees are still just $99 a year for ios app developer program and $25 for google playstore.
And at crowded events cell towers and wifi do have problems.
Someone can send a picture of the QR code to someone not at the event. With BLE and no backend I get that 100% assurance I was actually in the room with this phone, our phones talked, and I even know how many feet away that person is in real time.
No backend cost is a benefit for you, not for your users.
Walking around with your phone out with an app open is inconvenient and a distraction, and a battery drain. Downloading a special app just for this is already too much friction unless the event requires it or the benefit is very tangible. But in most people’s minds, the benefit would be very hypothetical, and you need to get nearly everyone at the event to do it for anyone to continue to try to do it, I think. I don’t see how it’s going to work, other than at conferences where the attendees are perhaps already interested in this exact problem space and find it interesting to try.
well it benefits the users if the backend never goes down!
And in this case, it can't by definition of not existing.
I think it depends a lot on the event. I would do all this at a 222.place after party if it placed me into buckets with the people I'm looking to meet.
business cards for phones lol
It'd make more sense to include a QR code and an app to scan the QR codes and pull this info later on. That way you could quickly swap cards and keep your phones in your jacket, free from digital distractions.
hehe i started this way. original name of the app was "QR-Osmosis" but even that is too much friction. The idea is you are talking at event and one of you gets pulled in another direction there is no akward "hey wait I didn't get your..." you just move on and know you have that info already.
I work on developing technology to solve sales and real-estate problems and streamlining/populating connections with people is a big issue. Exporting these to an excel sheet/csv is something that sales folk would absolutely kill for to make things easier to manage.
However, the hurdle to have enough get the application and have it running on both parties' systems while at the event is certainly a pretty strong bottleneck.
for sure, I need to start with events where the organizers can tell everyone ahead of time to have this app installed. Or I was thinking of just getting a local bar/restaurant to let me put a big auraphone sign outfront and show how that's a draw to get more customers.
I really don't understand this. I've got to fiddle with my phone, and use this app? And presumably the other person also needs this app? This would never work at any trade shows I've been to. QR codes work better for this thing (sharing details quickly with least friction)
LinkedIn used to have this feature called Find Nearby. It allowed you to connect with people near you and it worked really well during large events. It used Bluetooth too.
They removed it some time in 2021 or 2022 unfortunately.
Your idea is nice, but it’d easier if tighter integrated somehow with another platform.
I genuinely applaud your insufficient workarounds for legitimate security protections and I say this as respectfully as possible: This is an extremely dumb use case and I can't imagine anyone would want it.
To properly make this work you need to download the app, enter a bunch of information, go to settings to disable sleep mode, not touch your phone and also not have it accidentally swipe away from the app.
Seems like the (only?) target audience for this would hardcode networkers going to network events. And honestly, I think people who go to a event like this don't have this problem of missing a connection they wanted.
what if the app could guide you more on exactly who you wanted to meet. The more info you give, the better we can match with:
1. potential customers / vendors (business network event)
2. potential mates (speed dating)
3. potential friends (222.place or timeleft)
I'd keep my phone out at a 222 event if the app guided me into a group of people that all share a specific interest.
I don't think the business events is realistic. It would have to be huge, generic, and have a huge amount of people be very specific with their wants-and-needs, on top of the technical issues I brought up earlier.
Speed dating is called speed dating for a reason, you're supposed to be forced to meet everyone. Probably takes more time to setup yet another dating profile than it takes to simply go through the process.
From what I read on 222, their entire purpose is to get away from algorithms, apps, and whatnot.
Timeleft has, according to their landing page, six people per activity.
I don't mean to discourage, by the way. It's neat tech, I personally just don't see where it could best be used.
EDIT: I could see speed dating have some sort of "prompt" build on top of this. Say the app is rebranded to "SpeedDater" and the organizers said to download it. Then while in the event itself, the apps could give prompts or fun stuff to talk about in realtime, and then later you could eg. say yes/no after the fact, at which point the matches are unlocked. Not sure this requires the local-thing though.
222 and timeleft you start in groups of 5 or 6, but then there is the "after party" with all those small groups combined. That's where this idea first came from. I was at one of those after parties and I was like wait and sec, it's 2025 why does this feel exactly like how we did this in 1980s?
Bad actors in the mobile space have ruined so many potential good uses of smartphones due to the restrictions that have had to be put into place.
Do I want random f2p mobile games broadcasting my personal info 24/7 as a never killable background process? No. But sometimes I do want 24/7 stuff running!
OP's app is a great example. Technically doable but not allowed because of how locked down mobile phones are.
This should all work fine on Android right? you can start a service that still uses Bluetooth in the background, you just need a notification to keep the service alive.
yes! if I have a room full of androids I can use them to help spread info about ios devices that are now gone. Android helps the eco system.
I built exactly this in 2016. I realised that Bluetooth requirement from both parties is too much friction.
It worked way better with a QR code.
That way there is proof of presence and the recieving person need not have the app installed.
This kind of thing goes all the way back to "beaming" between Palm Pilots, in 1998.[1]
Apple added "knocking", which they called called NameDrop, a few years ago. You bang two phones together and the simultaneous acceleration tells them to talk over NFC. But apparently Apple has gradually been locking down that feature because it's used to help organize protests.[2] Can't have that.
[1] https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/palmpilot-the-ultimate/...
[2] https://www.msn.com/en-us/technology/software/apple-wants-to...
Well the idea is you are talking at event and one of you gets pulled in another direction there is no akward "hey wait I didn't get your..." you just move on and know you have that info already. The QR still requires that little action. Did you get the bluetooth working reliably in 2016? I don't mean for this to sound snarky but coding this in 2025 I kept thinking "omg without AI's help I never would have got this solid."
How frequently does this case scenario realistically come up?
I attend a lot of events, and most of the time, I just quickly whip out my phone and scan the QR code (which is usually on a lanyard around their neck).
We can both acknowledge the action taking place (which I believe is important for spam prevention / security / politeness), follow up later, and it takes 1/2 seconds. With this, I would be walking around wondering if the connection was saved or not and checking my phone, which is about the same time cost as just scanning the QR code.
The business card exchange or QR code scan exchange, I think, is important to create a legitimate link. I hate it when I go to events and people scan my QR code from a distance to hit me with cold calls and spam later (usually flip it the other way while not interacting with potential clients), which is sort of how this idea sounds, but weighted towards the spammers side.
this is good feedback. I think there are others though that are on the side of too shy didn't make that connect and leave the event with 0. And it really matters the type of event business vs. dating. If you install the 222.place app and do their questionaire you'll see the direction I'm thinking of really asking "_who_ do you want to broadast _what_ information too."
Seems different form of friction? Scanning QR shows likely there but not quite proof (can just send screenshot of QR).
Interesting from a technical point of view. But the real problem to solve here is buried in this throwaway at the end, and it even suggests that this is entirely the wrong tech for the job:
> So the way I see auraphone working at an event, you walk around and mingle as normal but yeah every one has their phone out and running the app but ONLY this app. You are still present and in the conversation not just looking at other distractions from your phone.
What is so magic about this app that it will make your phone not be a distraction? And how do you get everyone to download a new app? And if you can get them to do that, why not just exchange the info through a normal server? Then you could literally just tell the app which event you’re at (and sure, use Bluetooth for that, but a QR code or even just a link would probably work better) and then they don’t need to walk around with the app open.
bluetooth proves you were physically there. also no cell tower or wifi issues. this app purposely has no backend! truly decentralized. If i used a normal server I would have to just trust the gps sent? And even if I could trust that, bluetooth lets me know who is closet within feet. The list of devices shows you by who is at the top, who you are nearest.
It is a chicken and egg problem for sure. Will enough people install the app and will people keep it open and in foreground often enough. I need real event with like 100 people to test :)
Why would you want to give out your contact info to people you didn’t engage with?
The business card is more than just an exchange of phone numbers.
well which specific piece, your instagram username is very different than your phone number right? And depends on the event. Is it speed-dating or tech conference? You can chose what to broadcast. If you are at the event, you have some goal of who you want to meet. Long term in the app I want to let you give more info about that and then filter the list for you. Help you find your people.
[dead]
I understand all this, but it still feels like a solution in search of a problem. Why does it matter that it is decentralized? There are simpler ways to reasonably prove you were there. Scan a QR code taped to the wall, use a WiFi beacon, get a unique code, tap a link in their invitation, ticket, whatever else is used as admission, or use Bluetooth for that matter. But exchanging the data by Bluetooth and requiring everyone to have their phones out, and thinking that it won’t be a distraction for some reason… that’s the part I don’t understand.
Well having no backend is also a cost thing. I can scale this to millions and my fees are still just $99 a year for ios app developer program and $25 for google playstore.
And at crowded events cell towers and wifi do have problems.
Someone can send a picture of the QR code to someone not at the event. With BLE and no backend I get that 100% assurance I was actually in the room with this phone, our phones talked, and I even know how many feet away that person is in real time.
No backend cost is a benefit for you, not for your users.
Walking around with your phone out with an app open is inconvenient and a distraction, and a battery drain. Downloading a special app just for this is already too much friction unless the event requires it or the benefit is very tangible. But in most people’s minds, the benefit would be very hypothetical, and you need to get nearly everyone at the event to do it for anyone to continue to try to do it, I think. I don’t see how it’s going to work, other than at conferences where the attendees are perhaps already interested in this exact problem space and find it interesting to try.
well it benefits the users if the backend never goes down!
And in this case, it can't by definition of not existing.
I think it depends a lot on the event. I would do all this at a 222.place after party if it placed me into buckets with the people I'm looking to meet.
Streetpass for phones
business cards for phones lol It'd make more sense to include a QR code and an app to scan the QR codes and pull this info later on. That way you could quickly swap cards and keep your phones in your jacket, free from digital distractions.
hehe i started this way. original name of the app was "QR-Osmosis" but even that is too much friction. The idea is you are talking at event and one of you gets pulled in another direction there is no akward "hey wait I didn't get your..." you just move on and know you have that info already.
I think streetpass used wifi, but this seems to have the same UX to it.
Hey, that's a pretty cool concept!
I work on developing technology to solve sales and real-estate problems and streamlining/populating connections with people is a big issue. Exporting these to an excel sheet/csv is something that sales folk would absolutely kill for to make things easier to manage.
However, the hurdle to have enough get the application and have it running on both parties' systems while at the event is certainly a pretty strong bottleneck.
for sure, I need to start with events where the organizers can tell everyone ahead of time to have this app installed. Or I was thinking of just getting a local bar/restaurant to let me put a big auraphone sign outfront and show how that's a draw to get more customers.
I really don't understand this. I've got to fiddle with my phone, and use this app? And presumably the other person also needs this app? This would never work at any trade shows I've been to. QR codes work better for this thing (sharing details quickly with least friction)
LinkedIn used to have this feature called Find Nearby. It allowed you to connect with people near you and it worked really well during large events. It used Bluetooth too.
They removed it some time in 2021 or 2022 unfortunately.
Your idea is nice, but it’d easier if tighter integrated somehow with another platform.
any idea why linkedin removed this? I'm hoping it was because it was just too buggy and my code is amazing hehe?
Not sure if this intentional, but the app is listed in the App Store for iPhone under the Food & Drink category.
Yeah my original idea was for this to be a nightlife bar/restaurant meet people app.
https://i.imgur.com/HQ6hVMd.png
and there would be gamification for free drinks/food
I genuinely applaud your insufficient workarounds for legitimate security protections and I say this as respectfully as possible: This is an extremely dumb use case and I can't imagine anyone would want it.