Five years ago, when Miles “Deuce” McBride moved to New York as a 20-year-old rookie playing for the Knicks, he found the transition to a big city overwhelming and struggled to find the right crowd.
“When I got up here, everybody on my team was married with kids or just kind of loners,” he told TechCrunch, reflecting on his initial feelings of loneliness being the youngest player on the team. “I wish there was a way to meet people organically who have the same interests. I feel like with social media, everybody is so superficial.”
Recognizing a common pain point for many in their twenties, McBride teamed up with veteran startup founder Joe Einhorn to create Mmotion, an app that combines elements of location tracking with social discovery features to help people find new friends based on shared interests while also recommending nearby bars, restaurants, and other social hotspots.
Image Credits:Mmotion (Image has been modified)
Now available in beta for users in NYC, the app diverges from traditional friendship platforms like Bumble BFF, instead competing more directly with apps like Snap Map and Find My. Instagram also recently entered the space with a new Map feature. (Mmotion’s beta will be limited to 1,000 members.)
Mmotion leverages geofencing and state tracking to follow users’ movements, highlighting people with similar interests in the vicinity. It also keeps track of where users go to recommend similar, worthwhile locations to explore. Plus, users get a private log of all their location history, acting like a personal timeline so they can easily look back on all the spots they’ve explored.
To access Mmotion, users must apply for a membership. Once accepted, they can enter their interests, join “Circles” or groups they’re interested in (such as those focused on hiking, attending basketball games, or visiting art galleries), and send friend requests to others nearby. The app also offers private messaging between users.
Image Credits:Mmotion
To prioritize user safety, the app features encrypted location data that is only accessible to the user unless they choose to share it. Users are incognito by default, which Mmotion refers to as “Vault Mode,” and can be switched at any time.
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