Skip to main content
Nihao 泥嚎

NIHAO · 泥嚎

Find warm, real connections nearby

Nihao is a social app for pet owners. See who is walking nearby, set up a real meetup, and start a friendship with "what's your dog's name?"

Usable in your browser today; iOS and Android are on the way.

The Discover screen: walkers, activities and pets nearbyTODO(nihao) Phase 6 — app screenshot

HOW IT WORKS · 核心闭环

Six steps, from one person to a circle

We do one thing: turn "there's a dog near me just like mine" into an actual meetup.

  1. Create your profile

    Nickname, photo, rough area. Two minutes.

  2. Add your pet

    Name, breed, temperament, meetup preferences.

  3. Discover nearby

    Who's walking, what's happening, which pets are around.

  4. Host or join

    "Anyone walking right now?" or Sunday 3pm at the dog park.

  5. Share moments

    Walk number 18, a new trick, a photo from the park.

  6. Chat

    Every activity gets a group chat. "I'm here." "I'm in the parking lot."

FEATURES · 功能

Four things that turn "nearby" into "friends"

Discover & match

Open the app and you're on Discover: neighbours out walking, nearby activities, nearby pets. Swipe pet cards; a mutual like opens a chat.

  • Within 3 miles
  • 12 likes a day
  • Match means chat
The Discover screen and the pet card stackTODO(nihao) Phase 6 — app screenshot

Activities

Instant ("anyone walking right now?") or scheduled ("Sunday 3pm at the dog park"). Public places only, capacity handled for you, and every activity comes with a group chat.

  • Instant
  • Scheduled
  • Group chat included
The activity list and an activity's detailTODO(nihao) Phase 6 — app screenshot

Walks

Start a walk and nearby walkers can see you — only while you choose to share. When you stop, you get a summary: distance, time, walk number, one tap to post it.

  • Foreground only
  • Off anytime
  • Auto-cleared in 4 hours
The walk map and the walk summaryTODO(nihao) Phase 6 — app screenshot

Feed & messages

A pet feed in plain reverse-chronological order. No ranking algorithm, no ads in the stream. Messages holds new matches, DMs and activity groups.

  • Chronological
  • No algorithm
  • Photos & read receipts
The pet feed and the message listTODO(nihao) Phase 6 — app screenshot

PRIVACY BY DESIGN · 隐私

You decide how close anyone gets

We never publish your live precise location. Switch between four modes at any time; other people only ever see a distance rounded to 0.1 miles, or the name of a public place — never your address.

  • Anything under 0.3 miles shows as "within 0.3 mi".
  • A walk's temporary location is cleared when it ends, or after 4 hours.
  • We never store your raw IP — only a hash that cannot be reversed.
Read the full privacy policy
  • Precise

    Raw device coordinates, only when you turn it on.

  • Approximate (recommended)

    Snapped to a ~500 m grid.

  • Pick a neighbourhood

    You choose the area; we use its centre.

  • Pick a public place

    A park, a campus, a plaza. Never a home address.

GET THE APP · 下载

Three doors, one Nihao

Use it in your browser today. iOS and Android are in review.

  • Available

    Web app

    No install. Sign in with an email code and start looking around.

    Open the web app
  • Coming soon

    iOS

    iOS 16+. Sign in with Apple and push notifications at launch.

    Coming soon to the App Store
  • Coming soon

    Android

    Android 10+.

    Coming soon to Google Play

The people building it

A small team in Maryland. We have pets too, and we kept running into the same people at the same park. Nihao is the app we wanted.

Meet the team
  • Dayuan
  • Dante
  • To be announced
  • To be announced