About

We Crossed Paths puts everyone you meet on your own map: where they're from, how far your world reaches, and how many countries you've collected along the way.

Why it exists

It started in a bar, after a great evening with a few strangers from Pittsburgh. Walking home, I realised how many people like that I had already forgotten. People who had made a night special, and who had simply disappeared from my memory: first their faces, then what we talked about. It saddened me more than I expected. My wife said I should make something for it. So I did: a map of everyone I meet. Friends saw it and wanted one too, and now it's here for anyone.

A journal of the people you meet. Most encounters are fleeting: a chat at a bar, a shared table at a hostel, a long train ride. A week later the face fades, a year later the name. Here you keep them: who they were, where they're from, where you met, and what you talked about. Your map slowly becomes a picture of your life, told through the people in it.

For people who find meeting people hard. I was very introverted myself. Talking to someone I didn't know felt like crossing a line I couldn't see. What changed it wasn't one big moment but many small ones, and slowly discovering that people are almost always kinder and more interesting than you feared. This app is a small push in that direction. It celebrates the first person you meet from a new country or a new continent. The point isn't the score, but that every one of those milestones means you talked to someone.

What it isn't. It isn't a social network. There's no feed, no likes, no followers and no public profile. Your map is private, the people on it are only visible to you, and nothing about you is sold or shown to advertisers. You don't need to collect as many people as possible either. One real conversation counts for more than ten handshakes.

In one sentence: We Crossed Paths helps you remember the people you meet, and gently encourages you to meet a few more.

How it works

Add the people you meet with the city they're from. Their country lights up on your map, and you see how far away everyone is from your own city.
Link with people who also use it. Show your code, they scan it, and you're on each other's maps. Each of you keeps your own entry for the other and chooses what to share: your city, a photo, your social accounts. You can change that or unlink at any time.
Or hand over your phone. They add themselves while your map stays hidden, and you hold a button to get it back.
Your map is yours. Nobody else sees it. People you link with only see what you share with them. How your data is handled is in the privacy note, the rules in the terms of use.

Who's behind it

We Crossed Paths is a small, free beta made and run by Yoran Scholiers, in Belgium. Anyone 18 or older can create an account on the website. My good friend Timon De Cock is doing all the work on the official apps for Android and iOS, which are in a closed test for now; until they're out, the website works on your phone too. Questions, ideas or bugs: [email protected].

It's free and has no ads, and I pay for the server myself. If you enjoy it, you can buy me a beer 🍺.

News and new features: follow along on Instagram and Facebook.

What's new

Clearer sharing: before you link, you see exactly what they'll see (your name, city, photo and social accounts), each with its own switch, also under your code.
Where you met, on the map: pick the bar, café or city, and see it on their page between your home and theirs.
What you talked about: a private note for each person, just for you.
People Map is now We Crossed Paths, at wecrossedpaths.app.
Show my code: link with someone you just met in one scan.
A livelier map: lines to everyone you met, and countries that colour deeper the more people you know there.
Hand over your phone so people add themselves.
A country collection in Reach: every country as a flag to collect, and milestones along the way.