Rovers

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  Group activities on your route: create, discover and join group chats to connect through shared hobbies

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Making new friends and dating as a van lifer is hard. Classic matchmaking apps weren't designed for people constantly on the move. Rovers changes that by connecting users with others traveling along similar routes. Beyond dating and friendships, you can also discover group activities and exchange help with rig issues. All of this with safety as the top priority.

Quick word on why this app idea clicked with me

When I'm not designing and building apps, you'll find me on road trips and adventures. As a kid, I spent summers living the van life with my mom in a van she converted herself.

That's reason number one.

The other reason: mobile apps for van lifers aren’t built with brand and design in mind. They can be bloated with features, unintuitive, and not always aesthetically pleasing. I wanted to bring my touch to this universe.

How does Rovers address the need of Quin Gable and her audience?

🗺️ Route-based matchmaking

Users simply add their current and upcoming spots, and the app will now automatically show nearby people and group activities on those dates.

💬 Swipe and Chat

Rovers uses familiar swipe-based matchmaking, so there's no learning curve. When there’s match, it opens a conversation. Unlike other matchmaking apps that open to the swipe screen, Rovers leads with your existing connections, prioritizing real conversations over endless swiping.

♥️ Dating Mode is optional

Not everyone is looking to date, so Dating Mode is off and hidden by default. It's separate from friend-finding, with its own matchmaking preferences: turn it on only if you want to.

🛠️ Builder Help

Users with skills can add a "Builder" badge to their profile and list what they can help with, from electrical and plumbing to carpentry and solar setups.

👥 Group activities (with women-only option)

Rovers lets users connect through shared hobbies and interests by creating group chats tied to specific spots. Others can request to join if the location is on their route. Groups can be set to women-only for those who prefer it.

✨ Fresh interface

Rovers was built with design in mind. With route matching, dating, friend-finding, group activities, and builder help all in one place, it could have easily become cluttered and confusing. A lot of effort went into making it light and intuitive instead.

🛡️ Safety first

Exact locations are private: users only know that another one is nearby (30 miles by default) on their route.

Authentication with phone number is required: it prevents bots and banned users from creating new accounts.

Blocking and reporting are always available for any uncomfortable interactions.

Profile verification: users can add a blue checkmark to their profile by getting an invite code from another verified user.

Built With

• firebase
• mapkit
• postgresql
• revenuecat
• swift
• swiftui