Hi Everyone, Please trash the app.
Martin here, founder of Backpack Chat. Backpack Chat puts your friends and their travel plans on a map so you don't miss each other when you have similar travel plans. I made the app because I kept getting messages below my travel photos saying "You're in Thailand??!! Let's meet up" and I had to reply with "Ah man, I'm leaving today, sorry".
It's an awesome feeling when you meet your friends in a different country, but it's so tricky to keep up with everyone's plans. This is the pain point backpack chat addresses. We focus on privacy and data protection.
We never show your exact location, only the city you're in and never use your data for e-commerce. I want to build something useful for travellers that they can trust (read use without getting bombarded with ads).
Happy to answer any questions you may have about the product and future of Backpack Chat. Check us out for free on iPhone and Android also follow us on FB, Instagram to stay up to date with the latest banter.
Awesome app!
So many times I've been traveling and seeing comments from long lost friends that I'm in a country/city without anyone knowing. This app is a great idea to stay connected or get connected with other travelers!
The last time I was in NYC I didn't know that my friends were there as well, I even passed the building where one of them worked and I had no clue he was there.....
Pros:
I was looking for an app like this. I'm glad they don't track your precise location unlike others do and only update it once a day.
Cons:
I would like to see more of my friends on the app you need to work on getting it out to more users
Thanks for the feedback Kristjan, yeah it's the chicken and the egg problem with populating the map. Joonas wrote a good suggestion of also displaying friends of friends, we'll see if we can move it up our product roadmap :)
Thanks Tarek! Happy to see that you find it easy to use. That's a good point on the value prop for making the app appeal for friends of travelers. A lot of bloggers start blogging to keep their friends updated on their adventures. I see an opportunity here :) Cheers!
Thanks for the comments Valjo. We've focused on making the UX great, but there is still ways to go and we plan to have this function installed by the end of December. We call it "Timewarp" :P
The last time I was in NYC I didn't know that my friends were there as well, I even passed the building where one of them worked and I had no clue he was there.....
Pros:I was looking for an app like this. I'm glad they don't track your precise location unlike others do and only update it once a day.
Cons:I would like to see more of my friends on the app you need to work on getting it out to more users
After downloading the app and inking my travel plans, I then connected it to my friends who I know are travelling.
Pros:Easy to use and helpful app to meet friends you cross paths with
Cons:Expand on the features making it appeal not only to backpackers but also their friends who want to be part of the journey at least virtually
Love it
Pros:You can easily see where your friends are when you’re traveling. So that you won’t miss meeting your best friend in the middle of nowhere!
Cons:When clicking on a member - instead of a list of places the person is going to - it would be cool to show it on a map with a timescale also