Introducing Present 2.0

We’re excited to share a huge update to Present for iPhone, Android, and desktop web.

Present helps you find things to do with people nearby. We designed it to help you make friends as you do in the real world — in groups around common interests. We’re all about connecting new and existing friends through circles — our name for Present’s location-based group chats — so our members can do more in real life.

Present is great for connecting with people in the moment, too. Whether you’re at a party or in a classroom, instead of exchanging phone numbers with people one at a time (so tedious!), you can create a circle and connect with everyone at once. Thanks to our real-time recommendation algorithm, people nearby will see your circle first, even if you just created it. All they have to do is open the app and join your circle to stay connected and keep the conversation going afterward. Present is an order of complexity more efficient.

What’s more, unlike other location-based social networks, Present does all of this without sharing your location with other people. On Present, circles have locations; people don’t.

What’s new in 2.0?

Up until recently, circles on Present have all been public; this worked great for meeting new people. Present 2.0 builds on this foundation and helps you stay connected with the people you meet through Present, not to mention your existing friends. We’re introducing two major new features, friending and private circles, both aimed at helping you do more with your friends in real life.

When you add people as friends on Present:

• We show you which circles your friends participate in, making it easier than ever to find fun things to do.
• We notify you when friends start circles nearby, so you can make plans in real time.

Want to plan a last minute dinner or happy hour? Instead of texting people one at a time to see if they’re down to meet up, with Present, you just start a circle. We’ll notify your friends nearby. Then they can opt into your activity.

In contrast to conventional messaging apps, Present requires the same amount of effort regardless of how many people participate. Present’s approach is faster and more inclusive, and you don’t put your friends in the awkward position of having to decline because they’re busy or out of town.

With private circles, you can now control who participates. Other group chat apps let you manually approve people who want to join your group; their users typically have to wait for approval before they can post, putting a hitch in their plan-making.

With Present, you can configure your circle so your friends and even friends of other circle members can join automatically! This means people in your extended social network can jump into the chat immediately, without waiting for manual approval. Present is the fastest way to make plans to do things in real life.

We think the world needs a tool like Present now more than ever before. While traditional social networks can leave people feeling isolated and depressed, we hope Present will bring people genuinely closer together, especially in real life, and make the world a happier, healthier place.