Ukrainian developer Taras Chekh created "Friends" — a social network for finding friends, company for an evening, and communities based on interests. Instead of looking for people for romantic acquaintances, here you can find people who watch the same anime, play your favorite video games, read similar books, or listen to the same music.
Ukrainian developer Taras Chekh created "Friends" — a social network for finding friends, company for an evening, and communities based on interests. Instead of looking for people for romantic acquaintances, here you can find people who watch the same anime, play your favorite video games, read similar books, or listen to the same music.
The project is four months old. Cech developed it independently using artificial intelligence, without a team or investment. The application is available for iPhone, Android, and in the browser. According to the author, more than 600 people have already created profiles in it, and his goal is to make "Friends" the No. 1 social network in Ukraine.
The impetus for creating the social network was Taras Chekh’s personal experience. After the COVID-19 pandemic and the start of a full-scale war, some of his friends dispersed, and it became more difficult to make new acquaintances.
"I myself faced loneliness after Covid and the start of the war: many friends left. When you move or just grow up, it’s harder to make new friends. There are plenty of dating apps, but almost nothing for friendship. I wanted the first message to be not "hello, how are you", but "did you watch Freeren too?"," explains the author of the project.
"Friends" is available on the official website, in the App Store and Google Play .
When creating a profile, the user indicates what they like to watch, read, play, and listen to. In the search, you can see people with whom they most closely match their interests, as well as the matches themselves.
For example, two users might discover that they both watched the anime Freeren and played It Takes Two. This is a ready-made topic for a first conversation — instead of the usual “hi, how are you?”.
The app also lets you import your Steam and Apple Music libraries to add your hobbies to your profile. You can also post short stories about what you’re watching, reading, listening to, or playing.
"Friends" is positioned as a social network for friendship, not a dating service. The idea is to help people find each other through shared experiences and hobbies.
Finding people by interests isn’t the only feature of the app. Users can post ads to find a group for an evening or join communities based on their hobbies.
Communities include events, polls, and voice channels. Personal and group chats, voice and video calls, and screen sharing are also available for communication.
A separate feature is the "Happiness Nearby" map. On it, you can mark a place you want to go, for example, for coffee, a walk, or board games, and invite others to join. The map is only available to users over 18 years old.
In general, you can use "Friends" from the age of 13. Teenagers and adults are separated in the application and do not see each other’s profiles.
According to the developer, private messages are protected by end-to-end encryption. You can report a user or content from any screen in the app, and complaints are reviewed within 24 hours.
Druz is ad-free and basic features are available for free. However, users can purchase paid Ambassador status.
It provides additional profile design options, including a custom icon and themes, first message prompts, profile visitor viewing, and personalized recommendations. However, paid status does not provide an advantage in profile search rankings.
