In-house product
Kinlo
A location-based social discovery app that shows where the night is buzzing—and who’s there—so people can meet in real places, in the moment.
Find people where the night is alive
Meet people where the night is alive.
See the busiest spots around you in real time and connect with people who are there now.
Create accountI already have an accountPulse Map
Rooftop Social
41 people here now · 0.4 km
Maya, 26
1.2 km away · Here for live music
Overview
What is Kinlo?
Kinlo is a Softrious in-house product for a social discovery app built around real places. Instead of endless remote swiping, it shows which spots nearby are busy right now and who is there, so people can meet in person.
The problem it explores
Most social and dating apps keep conversations stuck on screens. People want to meet in person, but don’t know where others are actually going out tonight. Kinlo explores how live, privacy-aware location data could bridge that gap.
- Type
- In-house product by Softrious
- Product
- Mobile app · Social discovery
- Platforms
- iOS & Android · Flutter + Node.js
- Scope
- Product strategyBrand identityUX & UI designMobile architectureMonetisation model
- Related service
- Website & Mobile Development
The challenge
What we set out to solve.
Design a social app that gets people off their phones and into the same room—without exposing anyone’s exact location, and with a business model that doesn’t depend on frustrating users.
- 01Make “where should I go tonight?” answerable in seconds
- 02Give every profile real-world context, not just photos
- 03Protect location privacy by design
- 04Build revenue into features people actually want
Key features
The product, feature by feature.
- 01
Pulse Map
A live heatmap of busy venues with headcounts, built from aggregated, anonymised check-ins.
- 02
Orbit
A one-at-a-time profile deck showing where people are and what they’re there for.
- 03
Waves
A lightweight way to show interest; mutual Waves open a chat.
- 04
Circles
Everyone who waved at you, plus your matches, in one place.
- 05
Chats
Familiar messaging with unread and archived views, and venue sharing.
- 06
Kinlo Prime
Unlimited Waves, Admirers, Undo, Ghost Mode, and City Hop—plus Spotlight and Super Wave add-ons.
Interface
Six core screens.
Designed dark-first for use at night, with one clear action on every screen.
- 9:41kinlo
Meet people where the night is alive.
See the busiest spots around you in real time and connect with people who are there now.
Create accountI already have an accountWelcome screen 01Welcome
A dark, warm first impression that explains the idea in one line.
- 9:41244112
Pulse Map
Search spots or areasHotRooftop Social
41 people here now · 0.4 km
Pulse Map screen 02Pulse Map
Live heat around busy spots, with how many people are there now.
- 9:41kinloOrbitAt Rooftop Social
Maya, 26
1.2 km away · Here for live music
Live musicTravelCoffee✕👋 Wave★Orbit screen 03Orbit
One profile at a time, with where they are and why they’re out.
- 9:41
Circles
Waved at you
Your matches
Aria, 24
NewNoah, 31
Zara, 27
Sam, 28
Circles screen 04Circles
Everyone who waved back, and matches ready to chat.
- 9:41
Chats
AllUnreadArchived
Chats screen 05Chats
Fast, familiar messaging with unread and archived views.
- 9:41←
Membership
Kinlo Prime
Everything in Free, plus:
- ✓Unlimited Waves
- ✓See your Admirers
- ✓Undo last pass
- ✓Ghost Mode
- ✓City Hop — explore other cities
- ✓Priority on the Pulse Map
Add-ons
Spotlight
Be seen first for 1 hour
Super Waves
Stand out in Orbit
Upgrade to PrimeRestore purchases · Terms · PrivacyKinlo Prime screen 06Kinlo Prime
A clear membership page with perks and one-off add-ons.
User journey
From “where tonight?” to meeting in person.
- 1
Open the Pulse Map
See which spots nearby are busy right now.
- 2
Pick a place
Check how many people are there and the vibe.
- 3
Browse Orbit
See people at or near that spot, with context.
- 4
Send a Wave
If they wave back, a chat opens.
- 5
Meet in person
Share the venue and meet where you both already are.
Who it’s for
The people Kinlo is designed around.
Every screen was shaped around these user profiles: what they need, what gets in their way, and what the product changes for them.
Maya
28, moved to a new city for work
- Needs
- Meet people nearby without weeks of messaging first.
- Frustration
- Dating apps feel like pen pals; plans fall through before anyone meets.
- What the app gives them
- A live view of where people are going tonight, and a low-pressure Wave to say hi.
Jordan
32, goes out with friends most weekends
- Needs
- Pick the right spot without walking between three bars.
- Frustration
- Reviews and maps say nothing about what a place is like right now.
- What the app gives them
- The Pulse Map shows which venues are busy now, with privacy built in.
Brand identity
A name, mark, and palette built for nights out.
Kinlo’s identity was created from scratch: a pulse-orbit mark, a sunset gradient on midnight indigo, and a bold, friendly voice.
Logo
A pulse ring with an orbiting dot: people moving around the places that are buzzing right now.
Midnight
#14112B
Dusk
#2A2552
Coral
#FF6B5B
Amber
#FFB347
Violet
#8B6CFF
Mist
#F5F3FF
Type & feel
Bold, warm, after dark.
Design decisions
Why it looks and works the way it does.
Dark, warm visual language
Kinlo is used at night, so the UI is dark by default with a sunset gradient that feels social rather than clinical.
Places before people
The Pulse Map is the home tab: starting from venues reduces pressure and makes meeting in person the natural next step.
Privacy as a product feature
Aggregated heat, never pins on people. Ghost Mode is part of Prime, but core privacy protections are free for everyone.
One clear action
Each screen has a single primary action—Wave, open chat, upgrade—so the app stays fast to use in a busy place.
Proposed architecture
How we’d build it.
A pragmatic, scalable stack for real-time, location-aware features—with privacy enforced on the server, not just in the UI.
- 1
Mobile app
One Flutter codebase for iOS and Android, with a shared design system, offline-friendly chat, and push notifications
- 2
API & real-time layer
Node.js (TypeScript) services; live presence and venue headcounts over WebSockets, with throttled location updates
- 3
Location & privacy
Geohash-based aggregation, minimum-crowd thresholds, and Ghost Mode enforced server-side
- 4
Matching & safety
Wave and match logic, reporting and blocking, and moderation tooling
- 5
Payments
App-store subscriptions and one-off purchases with receipt validation
Tech stack
Built with Flutter and Node.js.
One Flutter codebase ships native-quality apps to iOS and Android, backed by a TypeScript Node.js API with real-time WebSockets and geospatial data. Proposed stack for this product.
Mobile app
- FlFlutterSingle codebase for native-quality iOS and Android apps
- DaDartType-safe app language
- RiRiverpodPredictable app state management
- GoGoogle Maps SDKPulse Map rendering and venue search
Backend
- NoNode.jsAPI and business logic in TypeScript
- NeNestJSModular, testable API structure
- SoSocket.IOReal-time presence, Waves, and chat
- BuBullMQBackground jobs and notifications
Data
- PoPostgreSQL + PostGISProfiles, matches, and geospatial queries
- ReRedisLive presence, geo lookups, and rate limiting
- PrPrismaType-safe database access from Node.js
- AmAmazon S3 + CloudFrontProfile photo storage and fast delivery
Cloud & services
- AWAWSContainers, managed database, and storage
- FiFirebase Cloud MessagingPush notifications
- ApApp Store & Play BillingKinlo Prime subscriptions and add-ons
- SeSentryCrash and error monitoring
Approach
How we shaped it.
It follows the same delivery model we use for every client engagement.
- 01
Discovery
Align goals, define the product scope, and create a shared roadmap before engineering begins.
- 02
Design
Create a polished interface system, validate flows, and define the experience before code.
- 03
Engineering
Build with clear milestones, visible progress, and maintainable code from day one.
What it demonstrates
- End-to-end product thinking for a consumer mobile app
- A complete brand identity: name, logo, palette, and tone
- Real-time, location-aware UX designed with privacy in mind
- Monetisation designed into the product: membership and add-ons
What we’d validate next
- Validate venue density thresholds with real usage
- Test Wave versus swipe engagement with a pilot group
- Partner venues: verified spots and events on the Pulse Map
Kinlo is a Softrious in-house product, designed and planned end to end by our team.
From the team
Behind the build.
“The hardest problem in Kinlo wasn’t the map—it was showing that a place is busy without ever revealing where any one person is. We went through several versions before landing on aggregated heat with a minimum headcount per venue. It made the product a little less flashy and a lot more trustworthy, and that was the right trade.”
Let’s talk
Ready to discuss your project?
Tell us about your goals, timeline, and product ambitions. We’ll help you shape the right next step.
What happens next
- 1Tell us what you needA few sentences about the product, the problem, or the team you want.
- 2A short intro callWe talk through the work, the timeline, and who should be involved.
- 3A clear plan and proposalScope, team, and cost in writing—so you can decide with confidence.