Sifter 1.0 Is Here: Proximity Chat for the Real World Launches Today

Today is the day. Sifter 1.0 is officially live on the iOS App Store. What started as a side-project obsession at 702 AI Services has become a finished, polished app that is ready for everyone — not just beta testers.

If this is your first time hearing about Sifter: it is a proximity chat app that lets you meet and message people who are physically near you — without ever handing over your phone number, Instagram, or any other personal contact info. You can read the original announcement for the full why behind it, and the beta open post for how we got here.

Thank You to Every Beta Tester

The beta phase was everything we hoped it would be — and honestly a lot more work than we expected. Thousands of real conversations, hundreds of bug reports, dozens of feature requests, and a few things we had to redesign from scratch when testers told us the original version just did not feel right.

Every beta tester shaped this release. Some of the most important changes in 1.0 came directly from feedback during the beta. If you were one of the people who downloaded it early, filed a bug, suggested a feature, or just stuck with it while things were rough — thank you. Genuinely. This release is better because of you.

What Is New in 1.0

The core proximity chat experience is the same as in beta — see who is near you, start private conversations, control your visibility. But 1.0 adds a lot of polish and features that beta testers asked for:

• Tighter matching based on interests — find people who actually share what you care about
• Richer profiles with optional photos, interests, and short bios for users who want to share more
• Granular privacy controls — stay nearly anonymous or open up as much as you want
• Improved safety tools — faster reporting, better blocking, and active moderation
• Better discovery at events and venues — groups of people automatically cluster together
• Faster performance and meaningful battery optimizations over the beta build
• Cleaner onboarding that takes under 60 seconds to set up your profile and go

Who Should Download It

Sifter works best when you are around other people — which is basically the whole point. It shines at:

• Conferences and industry events where you want to network without the awkward exchange
• University campuses where meeting classmates and study groups should be easier than it is
• Coffee shops and coworking spaces where other remote workers are sitting ten feet away
• Concerts, festivals, and meetups where you are already surrounded by people with shared interests
• New cities you are visiting as a traveler — find locals and other travelers nearby
• Anywhere you have ever thought 'I wish there was a casual way to actually talk to the people around me'

What Makes This Launch Different

We built Sifter without venture capital, without investor pressure to optimize for engagement metrics, and without any plans to monetize your data. It is a tool that we wanted to exist, so we made it. That simple.

That means the product can be exactly what the users need it to be — not what maximizes ad revenue or retention graphs. Privacy stays privacy. Simple stays simple. The app helps you connect with someone and then gets out of the way.

What Is Next

1.0 is a milestone, not a finish line. We already have a roadmap for the next few months based on what beta users asked for most: group chats for people at the same event, interest-based filters that get smarter over time, and expanded support for international users. We will keep shipping updates frequently.

And if you are reading this on the 702 AI Services blog wondering how an AI automation company ends up shipping a proximity chat app — it is because building our own products keeps us sharp for our client work. Every real-world lesson from shipping Sifter makes us better at the AI systems we install for Las Vegas businesses. It is a two-way street.

Thanks for reading, and thanks for being part of this ride. We are excited to see what people do with it.