backward
Meet people in the places you already go.
- Role
- Solo — design, build, ship
- Platform
- iOS 18+
- First release
- August 2025
- Current version
- 2.2
The idea
Meeting new people as an adult is awkward. Most social apps make it worse by keeping you on your phone. backward goes the other way: it helps you connect with people in the places you already are, like your local bar, a class, or a weekend event, and then gets out of the way so you can actually talk.
Product
Meet, nearby
Tap “Meet” while you’re out and see who close by is open to saying hi. Connection requests only work at very short range, roughly within eyesight.
Messaging designed to end
You can only message people who accepted your request, and messages are deliberately limited so conversations move into real life.
Privacy first
Users choose when and where they’re visible. Nobody can see you unless you’ve opted in at that moment.
Engineering
Real-time sync
Connection requests, acceptances, and messages sync live across devices through Firebase, so both people see the same state at the same moment.
Push notifications
Time-sensitive notifications for requests and replies, which matter in an app where the other person may be standing a few metres away.
Authentication
Secure sign-in and account management built on Firebase Authentication.
Resilient networking
Handles the patchy signal you get in bars, venues, and basements without losing state or leaving people stuck.
Stack