A location-based social network handles three genuinely sensitive things: where you are, what you look like, and what you say to people you do not yet know. Passn was built so that each of those is as narrow as we can make it, and so that when something goes wrong, a human being reads the report.
30 to 90 m
Random offset on every stored crossing, precise coordinates are never persisted
18+
Enforced at registration and again by a database constraint
Human
Every report is reviewed by a person, with the surrounding context
Two-way
A block cuts visibility in both directions, on the server
What we actually keep when you share your location.
This is the part people care most about, so here is the mechanism in plain terms rather than a reassurance.
Binned before storage
Readings are indexed into hexagonal cells roughly 174 metres across to find candidates. The exact latitude and longitude your phone produced are never shown to anyone and are deleted within 72 hours.
Offset before storage
What is stored for a crossing is the midpoint between two people, moved by a random offset of 30 to 90 metres derived from a server-side secret. It is nobody’s own position, and the offset differs for every pair of people and every day.
Never live
There is no feature anywhere in Passn that shows one member the current position of another. Crossings are past events, described approximately.
Optional and revocable. Location permission is requested in context, never at cold start, and the app remains usable without it. Turning it off in your phone's settings stops new crossings immediately; existing ones age out on the retention schedule set out in the location disclosure. Adults only18 or over, checked more than once.
Passn is for adults. Date of birth is collected at registration and validated in the app, and the database itself rejects any account whose date of birth is under eighteen years old, so a client-side bypass cannot create a minor's account.
Reports about minors are prioritised
If you believe an account belongs to someone under 18, report it in the app or write to abuse@passn.app. These reports jump the queue.
Published standards
Our detection, removal and reporting obligations, including referrals to NCMEC and equivalent authorities, are written down in the child safety standards.
Verification, and what a badge does and does not mean.
What it proves
A verified badge means a live person completed a camera liveness check and that their face belongs to the person in the photos on the profile. It defeats the most common form of catfishing: a profile built from someone else’s pictures.
What it is not
It is not an identity document check, a criminal record check, or a guarantee about anyone’s intentions. Treat a badge as one signal among several, and keep using your own judgement.
What happens after you press report.
The report is captured with context
Reporting from a profile, a chat or a community room attaches the relevant content and identifiers, so a moderator does not have to ask you to explain it again.
A person reviews it
Reports enter a moderation queue and are assessed against the Community Guidelines. Severe categories, anything involving minors, non-consensual imagery, threats or trafficking, are handled first and can result in immediate removal.
The outcome is enforced and recorded
Depending on severity and history: a warning, a feature restriction, a suspension, or a permanent ban with the account and its content removed. Enforcement actions are written to an audit log.
Blocking is real, not cosmetic
A block is enforced by the server in both directions: profiles disappear from discovery, existing threads close, and neither side can reach the other through communities, calls or new crossings.
Nobody messages you first
Messaging opens only after a connection request is accepted. Unsolicited direct messages from strangers are not possible by design, which removes the most common harassment vector on social platforms.
Read the Community GuidelinesLevers you can pull at any time.
Invisible mode
Browse without appearing in anyone’s discovery. Available on Passn Plus+.
Distance & visibility
Choose who can see you, at what distance, and whether you appear in crossings at all.
Notifications
Per-category push settings, including quiet handling for messages, connection requests and calls.
Per-thread control
Report, block, or leave any conversation or community room from inside it.
Your data
Ask what we hold about you and request a copy or correction, see the Privacy Policy.
Deletion
Delete your account in Settings. A 14-day grace period lets you undo it; then the data goes, as described in the deletion policy.
The advice that still matters.
Software can reduce risk; it cannot remove it. Before a first meeting:
Move slowly, in the app
Talk inside Passn first. People who immediately push you onto another platform, or who refuse a call, are worth a second look.
Meet publicly, arrive separately
A café, a bar, a busy park, and your own transport there and back. Do not share your home address for a first meeting.
Tell someone the plan
Share where you are going and when you expect to be back with a friend or family member.
Never send money
Requests for money, gift cards, crypto or “help with a customs fee” are the signature of a scam. Report them; do not negotiate.
If you are in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first. Then report the account in the app or write to abuse@passn.app so we can act on the account and preserve the relevant records. SecurityReporting a vulnerability.
If you find a security flaw in the Passn app, API or this website, we want to hear about it. Report it privately first and give us a reasonable window to fix it. We do not pursue legal action against researchers who act in good faith, avoid accessing other people’s data, and do not degrade the service.
Security reports
security@passn.appVulnerabilities in the app, API or website. Please include reproduction steps.
Trust & safety
abuse@passn.appAbuse, harassment, impersonation, or an account that should not be on Passn.
Privacy requests
privacy@passn.appAccess, correction, deletion, or questions about how data is processed.
Legal notices
legal@passn.appLaw-enforcement requests, IP claims and other formal correspondence.
