Terrapin

Terrapin is a location-based messaging application, allowing you to connect to the people around you instantly.

Gauge the pulse of the crowd. Sound-off on whatever you're experiencing. Send private direct messages to interesting posters. Great for dorms, stadiums, nightlife hotspots, conferences, or anywhere else people are congregating.

Frequently Asked Questions...

Q: What's the point of Terrapin?
A: Terrapin allows users at the same location to communicate about what they are experiencing at any given moment.

Q: How does it work?
A: When you post a message on Terrapin it is coupled to the location you posted it from. The only people who can see the message are other Terrapin users within 500 feet of that location at any given moment. When you refresh the main message list, Terrapin gets your current location, determines what messages are active for your location, and populates your viewable list. Messages have a lifetime of six hours.

Q: What should I use Terrapin to do?
A: Terrapin's uses are only limited by your creativity. Some practical uses include feeding back information to businesses about the customer experience, finding nearby people on short notice to participate in an activity, issue or receive safety/security warnings, SOCIAL USES!!! (ice breakers, trivia, respectful flirting, flash mobs, opinion polling, activism, etc.)

Q: Do I need to "friend" or "follow" users to see their messages?
A: No. The goal of Terrapin is provide a forum for all people experiencing the same thing at the same time and place to communicate. Since you never know what users will be in the same location as you at the same time, there is no need to establish a social network. You receive all messages that are active for your location when you refresh your list. Effectively, your Terrapin social network is always changing depending on who is around you.

Q: Can I communicate privately with individuals using Terrapin?
A: Yes. When another user posts a message that you want to respond to privately, you can expand the message by clicking on it in the list and then pushing the "Chat" button to compose a direct message to that user. Direct message communications are shown on the personal content (third) tab in the main screen rather than the public message list (first) tab. Private messaging can be disabled via the app settings.

Q: Doesn't getting accurate location time after time massively drain my battery?
A: No. When possible, Terrapin uses WiFi based location which does not require heavy battery usage. It is recommended that users enable WiFi discovery to take advantage of this feature. Note that you do not actually need to be connecting to the network through WiFi to take advantage of this power saving feature, as long as WiFi is enabled on your device.

Q: Can I see a list of Terrapin users currently at my location?
A: No. Terrapin users can always view the active message list without declaring their presence. User presence is only exposed when they post a message, and posted messages can be discarded by the poster at any time.

Q: Are my posts permanently viewable?
A: No. Terrapin messages are viewable for, at most, six hours after they have been posted. If you want to delete a message sooner, simply click on the message in the list and press the "Discard" button.

Q: What does Terrapin do to prevent harassment and cyber bullying?
A: Terrapin is designed to be self-policing. Terrapin provides users the ability to both "like" and "dislike" any public message. If numerous dislikes are registered, the message will be reviewed and, if necessary, the posting user will receive a warning. Repeated warnings may result in the suspension of the offender's account. Concerns/abuse can also be reported at any time by email (contact@terrapinapp.com).

Please send any additional questions to Terrapin via email at contact@terrapinapp.com!