Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cuddlr?
Cuddlr is a location-based social-meeting app just for cuddling. It's a way of finding people near you who are up for a cuddle, without any pressure or expectation. When you and another person decide to have a cuddle, the app gives you live-updating walking directions to each other, so you can meet up.
What was the inspiration for Cuddlr?
Our culture doesn't have a space for closeness without pressure. The way we talk about meeting and sharing space and contact with someone assumes that it's centered explicitly around sex and dating, or based on the kind of affection a parent might show a child. We're not getting the right type of contact often enough; we don't give and get enough hugs. Hooking up is certainly not always a bad thing, but there's definitely an under-explored time and a place for a more gentle, no-pressure intimacy, and that's what Cuddlr aims to help with.
How does Cuddlr work?
It finds the closest cuddlers in walking distance and shares their first name, picture, and successful and problematic past cuddles (if any). Tap to request a cuddle from a specific person or respond to someone else's request. If you both agree, you can shoot them a brief message like "let's meet at the park" or "I'm wearing a green shirt". Cuddlr will then show real-time walking directions between the two of you. Once you meet and have a cuddle, you can give a thumbs-up if everything went ok, or in the event of a somewhat too-grabby cuddle, you can report the user. That's it! The app also lets you share a picture of the cuddle, and, when you're ready, you can ask for another cuddle through Cuddlr.
What's the difference between Cuddlr and certain popular "hook-up" apps?
Many features, such as chat, photo albums, shared interests and likes, can keep users from actually meeting: they just chat for months, or swipe left-or-right, or send photos. On Cuddlr, you get together straight away, have a little cuddle, and then part ways. If you want to hang out again, you can exchange information then and there— but you already know what kind of cuddles they give.
How do you build in trust and safety measures?
For potential cuddlers, you can see how many successful and unsuccessful cuddles they've had in the past. Users with a substantial proportion of reports are unlikely to have their requests accepted, and we ban anyone who is consistently using it improperly. In addition, we don't share your location until you've indicated that you do actually want to cuddle this person, and you can block anyone if you don't want them to even see you on the app.
Do I have a choice about who I cuddle?
Of course you do! Only cuddle with people who you think you'll enjoy cuddling with. Remember, it takes two to cuddle, so simply being on the service won't sign you up for cuddles. Also, you can block anyone you don't want to see or hear from. Blocking is always mutual: you won't see them, they won't see you.
Can I set preferences or filters, for instance for gender or age?
Not currently. We encourage you to consider cuddling with people who you wouldn't date, sleep with, or even find attractive— as well as those you would. For that reason, while you can scroll past anyone or decline their cuddle requests, and you can block individuals, we do not have built-in filters for categories of people.
Why do I need to log in with Facebook or Twitter?
Lots of people ask us "Why do I need to use Facebook or Twitter to log into Cuddlr? Why can't I log in with email? And, why can't I upload my own photos?" The answer is simple: Time. We're a very, very small team. If we let you log in with email, we have to let you upload photos. And if we let you upload photos, some people (this is the internet, of course) will upload inappropriate photos. And then who's going to go through and weed out all the inappropriate ones? We'd have to. And we'd rather spend that time developing new features like enhanced chat and better privacy controls. Maybe someday we'll grow big enough to have some poor intern on pic-checking duty, and then you can log in using whatever you like. For now, though, please accept our apologies for only having two login methods.
When is Cuddlr coming out for Android? Windows Phone? BlackBerry? Palm Pilot? Desktop?
We're working right this very moment on an Android version with a planned release date in early 2015. We may bring the app to other platforms after this, but right now we're focusing on adding features to the iOS version and getting the Android version released. You can sign up below if you want to hear when Android (or any other platform) gets added.
