CASE STUDY · DATING & SOCIAL
A proximity-based dating app where photos unlock by mutual consent and matches end at a table, not in an inbox. Shipped for iOS and Android from one codebase.
THE BRIEF
Swipe apps optimize for swiping, not meeting. The brief for Within flipped that: show people who are actually nearby, right now, and make the app's job getting two humans to the same coffee shop. Less inbox, more sidewalk. Every screen had to earn its place by moving a match closer to a real meetup.
THE APPROACH
Location plus dating is the most sensitive data mix there is, so consent became the design language. Positions are fuzzed to walking distance, never exact. Photos stay locked until both people agree to reveal them — a mechanic users see and control, not a policy buried in settings. Trust is what makes someone actually show up.
THE BUILD
Within ships from a single React Native codebase through Expo, so iOS and Android launched together with one team. Under it: live geoqueries for the nearby map, WebSockets for presence and chat, and background location tuned so discovery works without draining a battery. Builds went to the client's phone as the work progressed.
THE SHIP
App Store and Google Play, same day, same build number. The instrumentation we wired before launch tracked the metric that matters — matches that turn into planned meetups — and that number, not vanity installs, is what shapes every release since.
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