Discover & Check-in

CruiseCtrl puts you in control of when you appear to other people. Nothing about you is shown on Discover unless you check in. This page explains how Discover works, what others see while you're visible, and every setting that affects your presence.

1. Discover

Discover is the first tab. It shows people nearby who are checked in, in two views you can switch between:

• Grid — portrait cards with name, age, approximate distance, their intention ("Cruising", "Open to a date", "Let's make plans") and a verified badge where it applies. Tap a card to open the profile.
• Neighbourhood map — the same people as portrait pins placed at approximate areas, plus plans happening nearby. Areas are approximate, never exact locations. If the map can't load, a simpler approximate map is shown instead.

The filter button applies the same preferences to both views: intention (Cruising, Dates or Plans, and optionally something more specific), minimum and maximum age, distance, Around now only, Verified profiles only and Hide people I passed on. Discover remembers your view and filters when you open a profile and come back.

From a profile you can Say hello (opens a chat), Invite to a plan, save them as a favourite, set up Safe Meet, or report or block them.

2. What checking in means

When you check in, you appear on Discover — grid and map — for people nearby, with your chosen intention, until your time is up or you end it.

While you're visible, others can see your main photo, display name, age, intention, an approximate distance, and your verified badge if you have one. When you're not checked in, you don't appear on Discover at all, but people you already chat with can still reach you.

Checking in requires a verified profile. If you're not verified yet, the app explains why and takes you to verification — it's never skipped.

3. How to check in

1. Tap Your visibility on Discover (or You → Your visibility) and choose Choose a check-in.
2. What are you open to? Pick Cruising, Dates or Plans. You can be more specific if you like — for example coffee, drinks, a night out, a walk, the gym, a film, or just chat.
3. For how long? 1, 2, 4 or 8 hours, or all day (24 hours).
4. Who can see you? Everyone nearby (the default), only people you've already talked to, only verified profiles, or a hidden option that lets you browse without appearing.
5. Review and tap Start check-in.

Location: the app asks for location access when you start, so people nearby can find you. "While using the app" access is enough. Your approximate area and your intention become visible during the session; your exact position never is (see section 8).

4. When it ends

Your check-in ends on its own at the time you chose. The server enforces the expiry, so you never stay visible longer than you asked for. To end early, open Your visibility and tap End check-in. Ending a check-in doesn't affect your chats.

5. Browse privately

Browse privately lets you look around without appearing on Discover or the map — even while checked in. People you already chat with can still reach you.

Turn it on or off under You → Your visibility, or Settings → Privacy & data. The visibility screen always tells you plainly whether you're visible or browsing privately.

CruiseCtrl+ members also have Incognito (Settings → Account), where only people you message can see you.

6. Travel Mode (CruiseCtrl+)

Travel Mode lets you appear in Discover in another city, for example before a trip. It's listed in the app as a CruiseCtrl+ feature and needs a verified profile.

1. Go to You → Settings → Account → Discovery and turn on Travel Mode.
2. Tap Destination and pick a city from the list.
3. Check in as usual — your check-in is placed in that city instead of where you are. Your real location stays private.

Turn Travel Mode off in the same place to go back to your own area.

7. Active status

Separately from checking in, you choose what others see about your activity in chats and on your profile. Go to Settings → Account → Share active status:

• Active now — others can see when you're using the app.
• Last seen — others see roughly when you were last active.
• Off — no activity information is shown.

This doesn't decide whether you appear on Discover — that's what checking in and Browse privately do.

8. Location precision

Other members never see your exact coordinates. Before anyone sees you, your position is snapped to a grid and nudged, and the nudge stays the same over time so repeated looks can't narrow it down. You choose how coarse it is under Your visibility → location, or Settings → Account → Map precision:

• Precise — about 100 m. Closest match for people right around you.
• Approximate — about 500 m. The default; enough to say "nearby".
• Area only — about 2 km. Just a neighbourhood, never a street.

Distances shown to others (on Discover and in Right now) use the same fuzzed position. You can also turn off Location services in Settings → Account; you then won't appear nearby.

9. Distance and who you see

Set how far to look under Settings → Account → Discovery → Distance (from 2 km up to 50 km, or any distance), and choose kilometres or miles. You can also narrow the distance per session in Discover's filters. Verified only in the same section shows only people who passed verification.

For more on how location data is collected, processed and protected, see the Privacy Policy and Privacy & your data.