Meet Radar: user guide#

Version 0.5.0 (Android) · 1.2 (iPhone), October 2026

📡 In one sentence: Meet Radar is the social network for people on the road: it helps you meet the people who travel your way, that is people nearby, travel companions, places and meet-ups, by car and by motorbike.

⚠️ Important. Meet Radar is for adults only. Use it when stopped: never with the phone in your hand while riding or driving. Your position is never exact: others only see the area (about 1 km). Only the friends you choose see the exact spot, and only if you decide to share your location (chapter 9).

💡 Your ideas matter. This is the first version: if you have an idea or something is missing, write to us from the app, 👤 Me → 💡 Suggest an improvement; errors go through 🐞 Report a problem. Type or dictate, tap Send and the message goes straight to the developer.

What's new in 0.5.0#

• 🖥️ Meet Radar on your computer: on the computer open meetradar-web.web.app and connect it from your phone with 👤 Me → 💻 Open on computer (scan the QR or type the code, then confirm). On the computer you get chats, friends and requests, trips, the radar map, your photos and your profile, with the same account and no password (chapter 11).
• 💻 Connected computers: up to 5, each for up to 30 days. You see them in 💻 Open on computer and disconnect them with Sign out or 🚪 Sign out of all computers.
• 🔄 🔒 Who sees what choices and the profile photo changed on the computer also reach the phone; a message read on the computer counts as read on the phone too.
• 📱 iPhone 1.2: location to friends also with the app in the background, 🎤 dictation of the destination, QR reader for “Open on computer”, 🚗 Take me there and 📹 Ask for a video in Places (chapter 12).

What's new in 0.4.1#

• 📅 Planned trips: besides Today, Tomorrow and In 2 days, choose 📅 Other date up to 12 months ahead, with optional ↩️ Return and 🕘 Approximate time.
• 🗓️ Other people's Upcoming trips, sorted by date and grouped into Today, Tomorrow, This week and Later on, with a period filter.
• 🎯 Aimed at: a public trip can be aimed at everyone, at travel companions (by motorbike, by car or both), only at women or only at men, and only compatible people see it. 🎯 Trips aimed at me is optional and asks for your consent.
• 🧹 Past trips are deleted from the server automatically.

What's new in 0.4.0#

• 👥 Friends: the 💬 Messages tab becomes 👥 Friends, with Messages, Friends and Requests. An accepted invitation is a friendship: on someone's profile tap ➕ Add friend; requests can be accepted, declined or cancelled, and you can remove a friend. 🔎 Find people by nickname or RF-… ID, 🔗 Share my ID or 📋 Copy.
• 🔒 Who sees what (👤 Me): for profile photo, intro, ad, trips, places, photos and videos and presence on the radar choose 🌍 Public, 👥 Friends or 🔒 Only me.
• 📢 Quick ad: who you are, who you're looking for, what for (friendship, dating, travel companions, holiday), how you travel and one sentence. Gender and “looking for” are optional and are saved only with your explicit consent. On the radar you can filter by ad.
• 📍 Location to friends: off until you turn it on; only the friends you choose see it, for 1 hour, 8 hours or until you turn it off. On Android a notification “You're sharing your location” with Stop stays on; on iPhone, from version 1.2, it keeps updating with the app in the background (blue indicator at the top).
• 💬 Chats: last message and unread count in the list, ✓✓ Seen, delete a conversation from your phone, report and block from the chat.
• 📇 Invite from contacts: pick a contact and send the text message yourself; the app doesn't read your address book and uploads nothing.
• 📱 Let your contacts find you (optional): verify your number by text message and people who have it in their contacts can find you; you pick some contacts and see who is already here (➕ Add friend) or invite them. No contacts permission: only the numbers you pick go to the server for the comparison, and they are not stored.
• ✂️ Photo editor: crop (square or circle for the profile), rotate, straighten, zoom, flip. The check before publication stays the same.

What's new in 0.3.3#

• 💬 Suggestions and reports from the app, no email: the text reaches the developer on Google Firebase in Europe (Milan), any attachments (screenshot, images) go to Firebase file storage in the United States. Each message is sorted automatically with artificial intelligence (DeepSeek), which only receives the text — without email addresses, phone numbers, tax codes and IBANs, which the server removes first — plus the app's name and version.

What's new in 0.3.2#

• 🎨 The Meet Radar logo at the top left of the Radar tab and on the welcome screen, instead of the 📡 symbol.
• 🔒 Videos without your location: before publishing a video the app rebuilds it without the hidden data in the file (the GPS location the camera stores inside it, the phone model). The quality stays the same. A video in a format that can't be rebuilt and that contains the location is not published (the app tells you).

What's new in 0.3#

• 📷🎬 My photos and videos on your profile (👤 Me): up to 30 photos and videos, several files at once, with thumbnails, a full-screen viewer and 🗑 to delete them. After the check, people who open your profile see them, unless you are Incognito.
• 🎬 Photos and videos in the feed tab: besides videos you can now post and scroll through photos too.
• ⏳ Check before publishing: photos, videos and profile photos are checked by the developer. You see them at once with the ⏳ Being checked mark; others see them only after approval (see chapter 8).

What's new in 0.2#

• 📡 More compact radar: the 📨 Invite friends button is now small, next to the title, and no longer covers the list.
• 👥 List of people nearby with their profile photo (if they have one) and type: 🚗 Driver, 🏍️ Rider or both. At the top, the All / Drivers / Riders filters.
• 👤 Tap a name to open their profile (photo, nickname, a few words, vehicle) and contact them with a message.
• 🧪 EXAMPLE people: when nobody is in the area, people marked EXAMPLE appear to show how it works; they disappear as soon as real people arrive.
• 📍 Places: 📍 Add a place opens the map so you can choose the exact point.
• 👁️ The labels of the Visible on the radar and Incognito options are now easy to read.
• 📖 Quick guide in slides: it appears the first time you open the app and you can reopen it from the 👤 Me tab; swipe with your finger.

1. What it is#

🖥️ Chats, friends, trips, radar and photos also on your computer, with the same account: chapter 11.

2. First access#

The first time you open the app you see "Welcome to Meet Radar" with the slogan "The social network for people on the road" and the rules:

• meet people on your road: people nearby, travel companions, places and meet-ups;
• respect others: no harassment, no illegal or offensive content;
• you can block and report anyone;
• your position is never exact: only the area (about 1 km).

1. Type your Nickname.
2. Choose your vehicle: 🚗 Car, 🏍️ Motorbike or 🚗🏍️ Both.
3. Tick "I am at least 18 and accept these rules".
4. Tap Enter.

🔑 No email and no password. The account is anonymous and the app gives you a personal ID like RF-7K4M-2Q9T (you find it in 👤 Me).

Android then asks for location permission: it is needed to see who is nearby and the places in your area ("Location (only the area) is needed to see who is nearby").

Then the 📖 Quick guide opens: a few slides that explain the app, which you swipe with your finger. You can see it again whenever you like from 👤 Me.

If you see "Not connected: check your connection", there is no internet: try again once you are connected.

3. The tabs at the bottom#

At the bottom there are six large icons, each with one word: 📡 Radar · 🧳 Trips · 📍 Places · 🎬 Photos & videos · 👥 Friends · 👤 Me. Tap an icon to open the tab; the active one is highlighted.

4. 📡 Radar#

The radar is compact, leaving room for the list. It shows you in the centre (orange dot) and the others as dots: blue for people on a motorbike, green for people in a car. The further a dot is from the centre, the further away the person is.

📡 Radar or 🗺️ Map#

At the top there are two buttons: 📡 Radar and 🗺️ Map. The app remembers your last choice.

The 🗺️ Map is an OpenStreetMap map that you move and zoom with your fingers:

🔒 The map never shows the exact point of a person: only a circle on their area. Places, on the other hand, are at their precise point, because they are public places.

Under the radar there is the list of people nearby, nearest first:

Above the list there are the All, Drivers and Riders filters: tap one to see only the people you are interested in. Tap a name to open their profile (chapter 5).

Two switches#

Their labels are now easy to read.

How the position works#

• The phone sends only the area (a square of about 1 km), never the exact point.
• The radar shows who is in your area and in the ones right around it.
• Others see you while you have the 📡 Radar tab open; the radar refreshes every 2 minutes, and anyone who has not refreshed for half an hour disappears.
• The distance is approximate: the direction of the dots does not match the real one.

Example people#

If nobody is in your area yet, the radar and the list show 6 EXAMPLE people (yellow EXAMPLE label) moving slowly, with a notice that they are there to show how the radar works. They cannot be contacted and disappear as soon as real people arrive. On the map they are yellow circles labelled EXAMPLE.

📨 Invite friends#

The 📨 Invite friends button is small, next to the title at the top, and does not cover the list: choose WhatsApp or another app and an invitation goes out with your ID and the link to the Meet Radar website.

5. A person's card#

Tap a person's name in the list: their profile opens, with photo, nickname, a few words about them and vehicle, and from there you can contact them with a message. Below you see their photos and videos, once approved (unless they are incognito): tap one to open it or ⚠️ report it.

Tap Close to go back.

6. 🧳 Trips#

Going to the seaside, the mountains or a meet-up? Post the trip and find out who else is going.

Post a trip#

1. In 🧳 Post a trip type the destination in "Where are you going? (e.g. Positano)", or tap the microphone 🎤 and say it.
2. Choose When: Today, Tomorrow, In 2 days or 📅 Other date, up to 12 months from today.
3. If you like, add ↩️ Return (optional), at most 60 days after departure, and 🕘 Approximate time (optional).
4. If you like, add a Note (e.g. looking for company, leaving at 9).
5. Choose Who can see it (🌍 Public, 👥 Friends or 🔒 Only me) and, for a public trip, Aimed at (see below).
6. Tap Post: you see "✅ Sent".

The destination is searched with TomTom (on iPhone with Apple Maps search); if it is not found you see "Place not found": try writing it differently.

🎯 Aimed at#

It applies to public trips: your friends see all the trips you share with them.

• For Women or Men, first set your gender and “looking for” in your ad (📢 Fill in your ad, with consent) and tick the trip's consent box: people who see it can tell your gender and what you are looking for.
• The server does the check: people who are not compatible never receive the trip.

🗓️ Upcoming trips#

Here you see other people's trips, sorted by date and grouped into Today, Tomorrow, This week and Later on; at the top choose the period (All or just one). Each trip shows the destination, the dates (with return and time, if any) and who it is aimed at, with ✉️ Invite, 👤 Profile and ⚠️ Report.

• Show me all public trips: trips for travel companions with other vehicles appear too; trips aimed only at other people stay hidden.
• 🎯 Trips aimed at me (optional): tap Switch on and give your consent, and you also see the trips aimed at you. Meet Radar uses the gender and “looking for” from your ad only for this: they stay private and you can tap Switch off whenever you like.

Who is going to the same area#

In My trips you see each of your trips (🏖️ destination · dates) and underneath "Also going, on the same days (or the day before or after)": the people going to the same area (about 5 km) on the same days, the day before or the day after, with their note.

• Tap ✉️ Invite next to a person: they receive "Mario invites you: Positano · …".
• If nobody is there yet you see "Nobody yet: check again when someone posts the same trip."
• To remove a trip tap the bin 🗑. Past trips are deleted automatically.

ℹ️ Only the area of the destination is saved (about 5 km), not the exact address.

7. 📍 Places#

Here the community shares bars, restaurants, meet-ups, places for bikers, fairs, food festivals and parties, with a review.

Adding a place#

1. Tap 📍 Add a place: the map opens.
2. Move and zoom the map with your fingers and tap the exact point of the place.
3. Choose the type: 🏍️ For bikers, ☕ Bar, 🍝 Restaurant, 🏁 Meet-up, 🎪 Fair, 🍇 Food festival, 🎉 Party / celebration or ⭐ Other.
4. Type the Name of the place or meet-up.
5. Type the Review or details (e.g. Sunday at 10).
6. Tap Post.

⚠️ Choose the point on the map carefully: others see the place exactly there.

The list of places#

You see the places in your area, nearest first. For each one: type and name, review, who added it and ✔ N confirmations.

If there is nothing you see "No places around: add the first one!"

Places nearby from OpenStreetMap#

If there are fewer than 3 places in your area, you also see Places nearby (from OpenStreetMap): real bars, cafés, pubs and restaurants within 5 km, taken from OpenStreetMap, with 🚗 Take me there (Robot CoPilot) and 📹 Ask for a video (My Reporter).

8. 🎬 Photos & videos#

Photos and short travel videos, TikTok style: sunsets at the pass, scenic roads, meet-ups.

Posting photos or videos#

1. Write a Caption (e.g. sunset at the pass).
2. Tap 📷🎬 Post photos or videos and pick from the gallery (several files at once, up to 10).
3. While they upload you see "Uploading…"; then "Sent: others will see it after it is checked". At first only you see them: others see them after approval (see "Check before publishing" below).

• Videos: up to 40 MB. The app shrinks photos by itself.
• Everyone can have at most 30 photos and videos and can upload and delete only their own.
• You also find your photos and videos in 👤 Me → My photos and videos, with the ⏳ Being checked mark until they are approved: tap a thumbnail to open it, then the red round 🗑 button to delete it (both the listing and the file are deleted). After approval, people who open your profile can see them, unless you are Incognito.

Check before publishing#

Before being shown to others, photos, videos and profile photos are checked by the developer:

• At first only you see them: in 👤 Me → My photos and videos they carry the ⏳ Being checked mark ("⏳ Being checked: only you can see it until it is approved"). Nobody else sees them until they are approved.
• Approval or rejection is a decision by the developer, not an automatic one.
• If they are approved, the mark disappears and others can see them too: in the 🎬 feed (with your ID instead of your nickname, if you are Incognito) and on your profile (unless you are Incognito).
• If they are rejected you see ❌ Rejected: reason and the file is deleted; you can remove them with the red round 🗑 button. Reasons include recognisable faces or number plates, unsuitable or offensive content, not relevant and quality too poor.
• The profile photo follows the same path: after Save you see it at once on your phone with "⏳ Photo being checked: others will see it after approval", while others see the 👤 icon. If it is rejected you see "❌ Photo rejected: reason. Choose another."; if it is approved, "✅ Photo approved".
• ⚠️ Report, 🚫 Block and 🗑 to delete your own content work as before.

Watching#

Videos start on their own and loop; photos stay still. Scroll with the ⬆️ (previous) and ⬇️ (next) buttons; at the bottom you see who posted it and the caption.

If there is nothing yet you see "Nothing yet: post the first photo or video!"

9. 👥 Friends#

The tab has three parts: 💬 Messages, 👥 Friends and 📨 Requests.

Friend requests#

• On someone's profile tap ➕ Add friend (a hello or an invitation from the radar or a trip is a request too).
• In 📨 Requests you find the ones received (✅ Accept or ✖ Decline) and the ones sent (Cancel request).
• Once the request is accepted you're friends: you can message each other and you see what the other person shows only to friends.
• Remove friend (on the profile): you can no longer message each other and the other person is not notified. Block also ends the friendship.

Find friends#

• 🔎 Find people: type a nickname or an RF-… ID. People who chose not to be found don't appear.
• 🔗 Share my ID or 📋 Copy: send your ID to whoever you like.
• 📇 Invite from contacts: pick a contact; the app only sees that one, doesn't read your address book and uploads nothing. You send the invitation yourself, by text message.
• 📱 Which of my contacts are here (optional): first verify your number (see 👤 Me → 📱 Let your contacts find you), then 📇 Pick contacts: only their numbers go to the server for the comparison, which doesn't store them. People who are here and can be found appear with ➕ Add friend; the others with 📨 Invite.

Messages#

• For each friend you see the last message, the time and how many messages you haven't read.
• Under your last message you see ✓ Sent or ✓✓ Seen (unless the other person turned off read receipts in 🔒 Who sees what).
• From ⋮ More: 🗑 Delete conversation (it disappears only from your phone), Report, Block.
• For now text messages only, no photos.

🔒 Only friends can message each other, and messages are seen only by the two people in the conversation.

📍 Location to friends#

• It's off until you turn it on. Choose with whom (one or more friends) and for how long: 1 hour, 8 hours or until I turn it off, then ▶ Share my location.
• The friends you chose see you in 🗺️ Friends on the move, with the exact spot and the time of the last update. Nobody else sees it, not even your other friends or the developer.
• Android: the notification “You're sharing your location” with Stop stays on; sharing stops when time is up, with Stop or with ⏹ Stop sharing.
• iPhone: while you share, your location keeps updating even with Meet Radar in the background and you see the blue location indicator at the top (tap it to return to the app and stop). If you fully close the app, after 15 minutes your friends no longer see it.
• Location is shared only from the phone, never from the computer.
• When you stop, your location is deleted from the server.

ℹ️ In this version there are no message notifications: open 👥 Friends to see requests and replies. On the computer you can turn on message alerts in the browser (chapter 11).

10. 👤 Me#

Suggestions and problems work as in Robot CoPilot: type the text or dictate it, you can attach the app screen and up to 3 images, tap Send and the message goes straight to the developer, without email.

Deleting your profile and data#

Tap Delete my profile and data: you see "Are you sure? Profile, trips, places, photos and videos will be deleted." Tap 🗑 to confirm or Cancel. Profile, profile photo, radar presence, trips, places, photos and videos (listings and files, including those still being checked), invitations, your messages and blocks are deleted. Only the confirmations you gave to other people's places and reports already sent remain: for those write to acquagoin@gmail.com.

11. 🖥️ Meet Radar on your computer#

Chats, friends, trips, radar and photos on a big screen, with the same account as your phone and no password. The address is meetradar-web.web.app.

Connecting the computer#

1. On the computer open meetradar-web.web.app: an 8-character code (e.g. K7P2-XM9Q) appears with a QR. The code is valid for a few minutes and only once: if it expires, click New code.
2. If you like, tick Stay signed in on this computer (up to 30 days). Don't choose it on a shared computer: without the tick, the connection ends when you close the browser.
3. On the phone open 👤 Me → 💻 Open on computer and tap 📷 Scan the QR on the computer, or type the code and tap Next.
4. The phone shows the computer name (e.g. Chrome · Windows) and asks "Connect this computer?": check it and tap ✅ Connect. The computer signs in by itself.

⚠️ Only confirm a code you see on the screen of YOUR computer. If someone asks you to scan their code, they want to get into your account.

What you find on the computer#

Report and Block are available on the computer too. You choose the site's language at the top.

Only from the phone: location (radar and location to friends), places, your ad, Let your contacts find you and Delete my profile and data. If you are Incognito, nickname and intro can be changed only from the phone.

Disconnecting the computer#

• On the computer: Sign out at the top, or Sign out of this computer in 💻 Devices. To get back in you need to confirm from the phone again.
• From the phone: 👤 Me → 💻 Open on computer shows the Connected computers (valid until …): tap Sign out next to one, or 🚪 Sign out of all computers.
• Each computer stays connected for up to 30 days and you can connect up to 5 computers. When the connection ends, the site tells you and goes back to the code.

Security and privacy#

• No password: the computer gets in only with a one-time code confirmed from your phone.
• The computer uses your same profile and the same server rules: it sees only what you would see on the phone.
• Location is shared only from the phone: on the computer the radar shows the map but does not send where you are.
• For each computer only the browser and system name (e.g. Chrome · Windows), the connection date and the expiry are saved; they are deleted with Sign out, with 🚪 Sign out of all computers or when they expire.
• On a shared computer always sign out at the end and don't tick Stay signed in.

12. 📱 Meet Radar on iPhone#

The iPhone version (1.2) has the same tabs, texts and rules as Android, so this guide also applies to iPhone: radar and map, planned trips with “Aimed at”, places with 🚗 Take me there and 📹 Ask for a video, photos and videos, friends and chats, your ad, contacts, 💻 Open on computer. It is coming soon to the App Store: Apple is reviewing it.

13. Your ID on your helmet or T-shirt#

Your RF-… ID is made to be recognised on the road.

• You can print it on your helmet or T-shirt: at a meet-up, a service area or a bar, whoever reads it looks it up in 👤 Me → Find an ID (RF-…).
• Whoever looks it up sees only your profile, never where you are.
• From the profile they can say hi 👋: you decide whether to accept.

14. Respect and safety#

• No harassment, no illegal or offensive content: anyone who breaks the rules can be reported and removed.
• 🚫 Block anyone who bothers you: you no longer see them on the radar, in trips, places or videos.
• ⚠️ Report bad behaviour and profiles: reports go to the developer, who checks them.
• ⏳ Photos, videos and profile photos are checked by the developer before others see them (chapter 8).
• To meet someone choose a public place (bar, service area, meet-up) and tell a friend.
• Don't share your home address, number plate or other personal details in chat with people you don't know.
• In case of danger call 112 (or your local emergency number).

15. Privacy in brief#

Full policy: autorobotcopilot.web.app/meetradar/privacy

16. Safe use#

• 📱 Use Meet Radar when stopped: never with the phone in your hand while driving.
• 🏍️ On a motorbike: check radar, trips and messages during stops. The app needs no intercom or helmet device.
• 👀 The distance on the radar is approximate: don't use it to look for someone who hasn't arranged to meet you.
• 🤝 Met someone? Chat first, then meet in a public place.

17. Frequently asked questions#

Can others see where I live? No. The radar only uses the area of about 1 km and the distance is approximate. The map too shows only a circle on the area, never the exact point. Whoever looks up your ID sees only the profile, never where you are.

How do I stay hidden? At first you are not visible: you appear on the radar only if you switch on Visible on the radar in 📡 Radar, and you can switch it off whenever you like. Or switch on Incognito: others only see your ID.

Why can't I write to someone? Messages open only after the invitation has been accepted. Until the other person accepts you see "waiting for a reply".

How big can a video be? Up to 40 MB. If it is larger, trim it with the gallery editor before posting.

How do I remove one of my photos or videos? Open 👤 Me → My photos and videos, tap the thumbnail and then the red round 🗑 button. This also works for those still ⏳ Being checked or ❌ Rejected.

How do I earn reputation? By adding useful places: every ✔ Confirm from others on one of your places gives you reputation.

If I change phone, do I keep my ID? In this version the account is anonymous and tied to the phone. If you uninstall the app or clear its data, you get a new ID next time.

Can I use Meet Radar on my computer? Yes: open meetradar-web.web.app and connect it from 👤 Me → 💻 Open on computer (chapter 11). No password; location is shared only from the phone.

Is there Meet Radar for iPhone? Yes: the iPhone version is being reviewed by Apple and will be on the App Store soon (chapter 12).

Who can I contact? Write from the app (💡 or 🐞) or to acquagoin@gmail.com.