Help Centre / Going Live

Going Live

CruiseCtrl puts you in control of when you appear to other users. Nothing about you is shown on the Discover Radar unless you choose to check in. This page explains exactly how the check-in system works, what others can see about you while you're live, and every setting that affects your presence — including Ghost Mode and Travel Mode.

1. What "going live" means

When you check in, your profile card appears on the Discover Radar — both the grid and the map — for other users nearby. You become visible with an intent label and remain on the Radar until your timer expires or you manually check out.

While you are live:

Your profile card shows your main photo, display name, age, headline, and your chosen intent.
Your distance from each viewer is shown as an approximate figure (e.g. "200m away" or "1.2km away"), depending on your map precision setting.
Other users can tap your card to view your full profile, send a message, or send a Tap.
If you have an active Pulse post, a flame indicator appears on your card.
If you are verified, the green ✓ tick is shown on your card.

When you are not checked in, your profile is still accessible if someone searches for you directly or if you are already in a conversation with them — but you won't appear in any grid or map browse. No one discovers you passively when you're offline.

2. How to check in

There are two ways to check in:

From the Discover screen — tap the Check In button at the bottom of the Discover grid or map view.
From Settings — scroll to the Session section at the top of Settings and tap Check In.

The check-in sheet slides up and asks you for two things:

Your intent — choose from a list of options (described below).
Your duration — how long you want to be live (15 min, 30 min, 1h, 2h, 3h, or 4h).

Tap Go Live to complete the check-in. Your card appears on the Radar immediately. If you skip the check-in sheet (tap Skip), you can still browse the Radar anonymously but you will not be visible to others.

Location permission: CruiseCtrl requires location permission to place you on the Radar. If you haven't granted it, the app will prompt you. You can grant "While Using the App" permission — we do not require always-on background location. Your precise location is never shared directly with other users; they see only an approximate distance.

3. Your intent

Your intent is the short label that appears under your name on the Discover grid. It is the fastest way to signal to nearby users what you are actually looking for right now — before they even open your profile.

Available intents include:

Up for a chat — keeping it social, open to conversation.
Cruising — you are actively looking for a hook-up.
Just browsing — you're on the app but not necessarily looking to interact immediately.
Looking to meet — you want to meet up in person.
Up for it — unambiguous; you're ready to go.
Open to plans — flexible; you'll see what comes up.

Be honest with your intent — it helps people self-select correctly and leads to better, more genuine interactions for everyone. You can update your intent at any point during an active session without ending it: tap your own profile card on the Radar (or go to Settings → Session) and choose a new intent from the same list.

4. Auto-checkout

When your chosen duration expires, CruiseCtrl automatically removes you from the Radar. You receive a push notification approximately 5 minutes before expiry as a heads-up, giving you time to extend if you want to stay live longer.

To extend your session, tap the notification or go to Settings and tap Extend. You can choose any of the standard duration options to add more time from the point the extension is confirmed.

This auto-checkout system ensures there are no stale profiles on the Radar — every profile you see belongs to someone who actively chose to be there in the last few hours. It also means that if you forget to check out manually, you won't stay live indefinitely.

5. Checking out early

You can end your session at any time before the timer runs out:

Go to Settings and tap Check Out at the top of the screen (visible only when you are live).
Alternatively, tap the check-in bar that appears at the bottom of the Discover screen while you're live, and choose Check Out.

Checking out removes you from the Radar immediately. Any active conversations you have in Signals are not affected. Your profile remains accessible to people you're already talking to.

6. Ghost Mode

Ghost Mode lets you browse the Discover Radar without appearing on it. It is a free feature available to all users.

When Ghost Mode is on:

You can scroll the grid and map, view profiles, open chats, and post on Pulse normally.
Your profile does not appear on the Radar for other users.
You can still send messages to people you're already in conversation with.
People who already have your conversation open in Signals can still see your messages and presence indicator.

To toggle Ghost Mode:

Go to Settings → Ghost Mode.
Toggle it on. A ghost icon in the header confirms you are in Ghost Mode.
Toggle it off when you want to go back to being visible (you'll be prompted to check in if you weren't already).

Ghost Mode and checking in are mutually exclusive: if you enable Ghost Mode while checked in, you immediately leave the Radar. If you disable Ghost Mode, you are prompted to check in with an intent and duration before you appear again.

7. Travel Mode (Premium)

Travel Mode is a CruiseCtrl+ feature that lets you set your Discover location to a city or place other than where you physically are. This is particularly useful for planning ahead of a trip — you can start conversations and explore the scene in your destination before you arrive.

Requirements:

You must have an active CruiseCtrl+ subscription.
You must be verified (green ✓ tick). If you aren't yet verified, go to Settings → Verification first.

To use Travel Mode:

Go to Settings → Travel Mode.
Search for your destination city or drop a pin on the map.
Confirm. Your Discover view updates to show users in that location, and your profile appears on the Radar there.

While Travel Mode is active, your profile card shows a small plane icon so other users know you are travelling or planning to visit. Travel Mode deactivates automatically when you check out of a session, or you can turn it off manually in Settings. Your Discover Radar returns to your actual location after Travel Mode ends.

Travel Mode is subject to the same check-in, intent, and duration rules as regular sessions — you still need to check in with an intent to appear on the Radar in your travel location. See the Terms of Service for full details on CruiseCtrl+ features.

8. Presence settings

Presence controls how other users see your activity status — both on the Discover grid and inside chats in Signals.

Go to Settings → Share active status to choose one of three options:

Active now — when you are using the app, a green ring appears around your profile photo on the grid and in chats. Other users can see you are currently online.
Last seen — instead of a live indicator, others see an approximate time since you were last active (e.g. "Active 20 min ago"). No live ring is shown.
Off — no presence information is shown to other users at all. You appear the same whether you are online or have been away for a week.

This setting applies everywhere: on the Discover grid, on your profile card, in the Signals chat list, and inside individual conversations. It does not affect whether you appear on the Radar — that is controlled by the check-in system. You can switch between presence modes at any time.

9. Who can see you

While you are checked in and on the Radar, your profile is visible to any CruiseCtrl user who is within your set discovery distance — regardless of whether they are also checked in or just browsing in Ghost Mode.

To control your discovery distance:

Go to Settings → Discovery distance.
Set a radius in kilometres (options range from 0.5 km to 50 km or "Global" for Travel Mode).

Setting a shorter radius means fewer users can see you, which can be useful in dense urban areas where you might only be interested in people who are genuinely nearby.

Free users have a default discovery distance. CruiseCtrl+ subscribers can set a larger radius or use the "Global" setting in conjunction with Travel Mode.

10. Location precision

Your precise GPS coordinates are never shared with other users. CruiseCtrl shows only a calculated distance, and you control how precise that distance calculation appears.

Go to Settings → Map Precision to choose:

Precise — distance is calculated from your actual GPS location. Other users see a distance like "150m away". Your icon on the map appears at your approximate location.
Approximate — your location is blurred by a random offset of up to 500m before the distance is calculated. Other users see a slightly less accurate distance, but your exact position is obscured.
Area — your location is shown only as your general neighbourhood or area. Other users see something like "in Soho" rather than a specific distance. Your map pin is placed at the centre of your area, not your actual position. This is the most privacy-protective option and recommended if you have any concerns about being located precisely.

You can switch map precision settings at any time, including during an active check-in session. The change takes effect immediately.

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

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