How location privacy works on cruising apps
Written by Julien Lenaz, lead developer of cruush.
How distance gives you away
Suppose an app tells me you are 300 meters away. I walk a few blocks and it says 700. I move again and it says 450. Draw a circle for each distance and the circles cross in one place. That place is you. It works even if the app never shows a map pin, and it is called triangulation.
Areas
cruush does not show your precise position by default. It shows you in an area. Discovery runs on coarse location cells, and your stored location is encrypted.
Mutual only
You can limit precise location to people you are mutual cruushes with. Everyone else sees only the area.
Decoys
Ghost Mode publishes a decoy position, built so that watching it over many rotations does not reveal your real one.
How to protect yourself on any app
- Look for settings that show an area or a rounded distance.
- Be cautious with apps that show exact distances to the meter.
- Check who can see precise location, and when.
- Think about what happens if someone you blocked still sees you.
Why a decoy beats hiding
If an app only hides you, someone can still notice that you are the one who is missing. A decoy shows something that does not lead back to you.