Reclaiming Connection: A Decentralized, Local-First Proximity Network for Real-World Serendipity
Watch the 40-second walkthrough of the core AuraRadar experience in action:
👉 Click Here to Watch the YouTube Shorts Demo! 🎬
We live in a paradox: we are more digitally connected than ever, yet we are in the midst of a global loneliness pandemic.
AuraRadar is a direct response to this crisis. It is a local-first, serverless networking utility built to get you off your screen and into a face-to-face conversation with the people physically around you.
- No Centralized Hold: Taking the power of connection back from Big Tech's centralized matching algorithms and returning it directly to your local proximity space.
- Zero Conflicts of Interest: Commercial dating and social apps are designed to keep you swiping endlessly on their platform so they can monetize your attention. AuraRadar is built to facilitate immediate real-world introductions and then get out of your way.
- Absolute Data Sovereignty: Your profile data, swipes history, preferences, and private conversations are stored only on your physical device, fully encrypted. Your "type" never leaves your hardware.
For a deep dive into our philosophy, read the full AuraRadar Manifesto.
When another user enters your physical proximity, AuraRadar automatically initiates a zero-knowledge proximity handshake and establishes a secure, local peer-to-peer mesh chat thread.
Explore the standard 9:16 portrait views of AuraRadar, showing the high-fidelity glassmorphism interface and interactive features:
| 1. Secure Onboarding | 2. Proximity Radar | 3. Swipe Discovery | 4. Profile Details |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Onboard securely with name and bio | Scan proximity space for local resonances | Encounter and swipe on nearby active profile cards | Inspect profile bio, interests, and distance |
| 5. Mutual Match | 6. Encrypted P2P Chat | 7. Interaction History | 8. Zero-Knowledge Settings |
|---|---|---|---|
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| Instant match celebration screen | Secure mesh chat thread with live resonance scoring | Review history of past matches and encounters | Configure privacy and coordinate blinding tooltips |
- Encrypted Storage: Personal profile data and interaction history reside in a secure, local SQLCipher database managed directly by our native Rust core process (
src/core). - On-Device Machine Learning: Profile scoring and preference calculations are performed entirely locally on your device. Your swipe patterns and behavioral footprints never leave your physical hardware.
- No Central Servers: Proximity discovery replaces standard matchmaking servers with an autonomous P2P swarm.
- Persistent Background Scanning: A native Android Foreground Service (
AuraForegroundService.kt) runs continuously in the background using specializedmeshNetworkScanbindings, scanning for BLE/Wi-Fi proximity and firing local notifications even when the app is suspended. - Bypassing Hotspot Blocks: Using a dedicated swarm port (
14224) and an asynchronous subnet discovery thread, we successfully establish P2P TCP handshakes across complex mobile hotspot configurations, bypassing OS-level multicast blocks.
- Zero Coordinate Leaks: AuraRadar uses homomorphic mathematics to verify that two peers are close without ever revealing their raw GPS coordinates.
- Advanced Cryptography: Built on Paillier homomorphic coordinate blinding combined with Merlin transcript Bulletproof range proofs, providing absolute cryptographic privacy for your physical movements.
- Relational Reputation: Your "Aura Score" is calculated subjectively by your device based on gossip routing, preventing global sybil/rating attacks while preserving neighborhood-level trust.
| Layer | Technologies & Implementations |
|---|---|
| Frontend UI | React (Vite), Vanilla CSS, Lucide Icons, Glassmorphic Styling |
| Native Core | Rust, Tauri v2 (IPC Bridge, Native Notifications) |
| Database | SQLite + SQLCipher (rusqlite + bundled-sqlcipher) |
| Networking | Serverless P2P Mesh (libp2p / Gossipsub / Subnet Dialing) |
| Cryptography | Paillier Homomorphic Encryption, Merlin Bulletproofs |
| Licensing | AGPL v3 |
AuraRadar uses a standard Unix-style Makefile to simplify building, testing, and deploying across multiple platform targets.
- Rust Toolchain (cargo, rustc)
- Node.js & npm
- Android NDK & SDK (required for mobile/APK builds)
Start the full Desktop native app (Rust backend + Web interface):
make runBuild the local Android development client (APK):
make build-localCompile the optimized, signed production release packages (AAB and APK):
make buildDeploy the client directly to all connected USB Android devices:
make deployLicensed under the GNU Affero General Public License v3 (AGPL v3). See LICENSE for absolute legal transparency.