Travel safety tips

HopWit is about meeting people while you travel. These tips help you do that safely.

In danger right now? Call your local emergency number: 000 in Australia, 112 in India and Europe, 911 in the USA and Canada. HopWit can’t call emergency services for you.

Sharing your location

• Only family circles see your exact location. Only invite people you live with or trust completely.
• Friends see a rough area (about 1 km), and travellers see an even wider one. You can turn either off in You › Privacy & discovery.
• Pause sharing any time you want a break. Your family will see that it’s paused.
• Check which phones are signed in to your account under You › Account, help & sign out › Signed-in phones, and sign out any you don’t recognise.
• Think before posting a photo from your home or hotel while you’re still there. You can post later.

Chatting with people you don’t know

• People you don’t share a circle with can only send you a request. They get one text message, with no links or photos, until you reply.
• If something feels off, don’t reply. Ignoring a request is fine.
• Be wary of anyone who asks for money, codes or ID, or pushes you to move the chat somewhere else. Never share the sign-in code we text you. HopWit will never ask you for it.
• Block and report from the chat or their profile. They won’t be told who reported them.

Meeting a traveller in person

• Meet in a busy public place, such as a café, a museum or a hotel lobby. Never meet at your accommodation.
• Tell someone where you’re going. Keep sharing on with your family circle, and tap “I’m OK 👍” in Discover when you’re back.
• Arrange your own transport, and keep your passport, phone and money with you.
• Stay in control of your drinks. Leave whenever you want; you don’t owe anyone an explanation.
• Trust your instincts. If plans suddenly change to somewhere private or remote, say no.

Using HopWit AI and ride links

• Snap & share translations and AI city guides can be wrong. Never rely on them for allergies, medicine, safety signs or entry rules.
• Before posting a Snap, check the photo doesn’t show your hotel room number, boarding pass, passport or anyone who didn’t agree to be in it.
• Book a ride opens licensed ride apps such as Uber or 13cabs. Check the car and driver match the app before you get in.

For parents

• HopWit is for people 13 and over. Under-18s are never shown to strangers in the travellers layer or in trip connections.
• Talk with your teen about who can see their posts. Setting new posts to Contacts only is a good start.
• Location sharing in a family circle works best when everyone knows about it and agrees.

Reporting

Use Report on any profile, post, comment, question or chat. We review reports. After several reports, a post, question or answer is hidden while we check it. For anything urgent, or anything involving a child, also email app@hopwit.com with “Urgent” in the subject. If someone is in danger, contact the police.