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Discover where your paths have crossed.

We meet roughly 80,000 people in our lives, most of whom we won’t remember a day later. What if there was a way to find out whether your boyfriend, girlfriend, friend or colleague was actually someone you had met, or been in the same place as, before?

Download on the App StoreHow it works

Our story

Where it came from

The thought

My girlfriend was always asking if we’d crossed paths before we met.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it. We might have been in the same place before we met, maybe even spoken to each other, and never known. It could have been the same café, the same club, the same train, the same festival or the same holiday. One different turn on any given day and none of it happens. The Domino Effect, Butterfly Effect, call it whatever you like.

The problem

I was so desperate to find out, or at least come close. I was chasing that magical moment of finding out. The only way to find out would be to sit and go through every photo or memory ever. Life is too short for that.

The fix and the magic

Then I realised your photos already know where and when they were taken. So I made Encounta to read that and show you where your paths overlapped. You scan a code and wait. Then it shows you the place and the day you were both there, before you ever knew each other.

The reason

That moment of magic, no one should be deprived of.

So it’s free, and your photos never leave your phone.

The app

It started with me and my girlfriend, but it works for anyone: a partner, a friend, a colleague. You only ever compare with people you choose.

Try it with someone you know. Then tell someone else. You never know what’s been sitting there the whole time.

Download on the App Store

How it works

  1. Allow photo access

    Encounta reads only the date and location stored in your photos, on your phone. We never hold the photos themselves, just that metadata.

  2. Build your map

    The places you’ve been become a private map and timeline that only you can see.

  3. Scan to connect

    Scan someone’s QR code, or let them scan yours. Then wait for the magic to happen.

  4. See where you crossed

    We compare both histories so you don’t have to. You see the shared places, dates and distance. Nothing more.

Free, from start to finish. Encounta was built so everyone can have the same magic we found. No payments, no paywalls, no hidden charges. Your matches are never held back behind a price.

Your photos never leave your phone.

Stays on your phone

  • Your photos
  • Everything in them except time and place

Sent to Encounta

  • Coordinates and timestamps taken from your photos
  • Place names for those coordinates

A match only ever shows a shared place, a date and a distance. Nothing else about the other person, and none of your unrelated history. The one exception to “no photos” is a profile picture, and only if you choose to add one.

  • Delete any locationRemove a single place from your history.
  • Exclusion zonesKeep places like home or work out of the picture.
  • Export your dataRequest a copy of what Encounta holds.
  • Delete your accountRemove your account and your data.
  • Revoke accessWithdraw camera roll access at any time.
  • Encrypted and hosted in the UK/EULocation data is encrypted in transit and at rest.

Find out who you’ve already crossed paths with.

Download on the App Store