ConfFriends 2019
With under a week until developers from around the world start to descend on San Jose for Apple’s World Wide Developer Conference.
ConfFriends (formerly WWDC Family) has been updated for 2019 to include a bunch of new features to help organize get-togethers with other attendees of WWDC and neighboring events. I even managed to get “WWDC” back into the App Title.
Gatherings
This year with the closure of Beacon, which previously made it easy to plan smaller events at previous WWDCs, I added the ability to add Gatherings to ConfFriends. Anyone can add a gathering to the app and provide all of the details, including whether a ticket is required.
Gatherings can really be anything, a trip to a particular restaurant, city meetups or even whole country get-togethers or perhaps you want to exchange a few WWDC pins.
Each gathering has its own chat where you’re able to ask questions or organize meeting up before heading to the venue etc.
Coming soon: In an update coming later this week you’ll be able to see upcoming and past gatherings, gathering creators will be able to edit gatherings to keep things current.
Privacy
I’ve not added any additional privacy features this year, but here’s a recap of all of the features available in ConfFriends.
Disable & Hide Location
You can disable and hide your location at anytime. This will remove your location immediately and will avoid adding your location back until you re-enable it.
Privacy Zone
Adding a privacy zone will stop the app from sharing your location within the selected area. If you enter the area the app will not update it, only updating once you then again leave that zone. You should avoid centering your privacy zone over your home or hotel so the location can’t be discovered over time.
Location Fuzzing
When you enable location fuzzing the app will change your location by a set distance in a random direction. The direction is set on the device and stored so your actual location cannot be determined over time. You can also select how far you want your location to be fuzzed.
Account Deletion
At any point you can delete your account entirely right from the app. No need to drop anyone an email and wait for days.
Got feedback?
Ran into an issue with ConfFriends or have a suggestion for a quick update this year or for ConfFriends 2020 then drop me a tweet or DM.
Into coffee?
If you’re into coffee and/or want to kick off your WWDC mornings with some chatter with other developers in town the SF iOS Coffee group is hosting a meetup each morning. It’s a great way to kickstart the day and meet a bunch of new people. You can check out the schedule at our awesome domain coffeecoffeecoffee.coffee or use our nifty app available on the App Store. Coffee’s will also be added to ConfFriends. 🙂