Friends | A True Social Media App

*(name subject to change)

A React Native social app built with Expo
Helps people make friends based on shared interests, with anonymous posting, real-time chat, and location-based discovery

Overview

Friends blends familiar social features with anonymous interactions and location discovery to help users find and build friendships, not just followers. The app supports image and video posts, anonymous voting, real-time messaging, and an interactive map for discovering nearby people and events.

This repository is a showcase for the application.

(NOT FINAL & UNDER PROGRESS)

(LOW QUALITY AND FRAME RATE DUE TO GIF FORMAT)

Request a TestFlight demo or codebase preview

Email to request a TestFlight demo or additional information: ablakulovoybek@gmail.com

Tech stack

Frontend

• React Native with Expo
• Expo Router for file-based navigation
• react native maps for map features
• react native fast image for optimized image handling
• react native renders HTML for rich content

Backend and Database

• Supabase for Auth, Postgres storage, and real-time subscriptions
• PostgreSQL with Row Level Security for per-row access control
• Supabase Storage for media management

Libraries and Utilities

• Moment.js for date and time formatting
• react native image picker for media selection
• react native video for video playback
• AsyncStorage for local persistence

Key features

Social

• Customizable user profiles with interest tags and personal info
• Friend system with friend codes for quick connections
• Public posts and friend-only posts with image and video support
• Anonymous posting with upvotes and downvotes

Messaging and Groups

• Real-time direct messaging with read receipts and typing indicators
• Anonymous chat rooms and group messaging
• Media sharing inside chats

Discovery and Interaction

• Interactive map for location-based discovery
• Interest matching to suggest compatible users
• Events creation, discovery, and RSVP
• Push and in-app notifications for message requests and activity

Privacy and Safety

• Optional anonymous interactions for privacy-focused users
• Supabase Auth for secure authentication
• Row-level security on the database for per-user access control
• Clear privacy policy and terms of service integration

Core functionality

• Authentication and onboarding with email sign-up, interest selection, academic info optional, and privacy consent
• Feed that combines posts and events with anonymous voting and friend-only content
• Messaging that supports live chat between friends and anonymous rooms with media sharing and read receipts
• Matching that uses selected interests to calculate compatibility scores and surface potential connections

Code organization and guidelines

• Components grouped by feature and reusability
• Services handle Supabase API interactions
• Contexts manage global state for auth onboarding and navigation
• Constants define theme and configuration values
• Follow existing style and test changes on both platforms before creating PRs

Security considerations

• Row Level Security in Supabase to enforce per-user access
• Secrets kept in environment variables and never committed
• Anonymous flows minimize personally identifying data

⭐For recruiters and hiring managers

Summary of my work:

• Real-time app architecture using Supabase subscriptions and a mobile client
• Security best practices implemented with RLS and proper auth
• Location services and maps integration for production-grade mobile features
• Media handling and performance work, including optimized image delivery and storage
• Clear separation of service contexts and reusable UI components

Please feel free to reach out to my personal email for more information: ryancolledaoui@gmail.com or rao2148@columbia.edu

License and ownership

Developed by Mooruz LLC
Co-Founder Ryan Ouardaoui

Contact for licensing and partnership details