A quick look at what we've been building for you over the past few weeks.

We've been heads-down making TravelBuddy a better, safer, and more fun place to plan trips and meet fellow travelers. Here's what just landed.

A Real Trust Signal: Age Verification

Finding a travel buddy is a big deal. You're talking about sharing accommodation, splitting costs, and spending real time with someone — so knowing that person is who they say they are matters.

We've added voluntary age verification powered by a privacy-first service called didit.me. If you choose to verify, the process is quick and you walk away with a small verified age badge on your profile. No ID copies stored on our end, no personal data beyond a simple "yes, this checks out."

When you're browsing trips or member profiles, keep an eye out for the shield icon — it means that traveler has confirmed their stated age is genuine. It's entirely optional, but we think it'll quickly become one of the most meaningful signals on the platform.

Finding the Right Travel Buddy Just Got a Lot Better

We rebuilt how discovery works from the ground up. A few highlights:

Smarter search. Searching for trips or members now actually works the way you'd expect — partial matches, typos, and all. Type "Vietn" and you'll still find Vietnam.

Way more filters. Looking for a French-speaking travel partner in their 30s who prefers slow travel? You can now filter the member directory by language, age range, travel style, and more. The trips directory got the same treatment.

"Where are you?" presence. You can now pin the countries you're currently in or heading to soon. Browse the /destination pages to see who else is around or planning to be there — it's a great way to find someone spontaneously.

Map view on trips. Switch to map mode on the trips page and see where everyone's headed at a glance. Click a country to see the trips pinned there.

Compatibility scores. Every trip and member card now shows how well you'd travel together based on shared language, age, travel style, and pace. It's not a dealbreaker either way — just a helpful nudge.

Saved searches with alerts. Set up a search for your dream trip (say, "trekking in Nepal, June, solo female traveler") and we'll email or push-notify you the moment something matching comes up. No more refreshing the page every day.

A Whole Lot More to Do and Talk About

TravelBuddy used to be mostly about posting and browsing trips. Now it's a place where actual conversations happen.

Comments on trip posts. You can now comment directly on any trip listing — ask a question, offer advice, or just show some love. Replies are threaded one level deep so it stays readable.

Groups and destination forums. We've launched 40+ groups across destinations and travel interests — everything from "Southeast Asia Backpackers" to "Solo Female Travelers" to "Digital Nomads." Jump in, start a thread, meet people you'd never have crossed paths with otherwise.

Local meetups. Passing through a city and want to grab a coffee with other travelers? Post a meetup. Heading to Bangkok next week? Check if anyone's already hosting one. It's casual, low-commitment, and genuinely fun.

Profile feed. Your profile now has a small feed where you can post what you're up to — a travel update, a question, a photo caption. Other members can react and comment. Think of it as a lightweight travel journal that lives right next to your profile.

Reactions everywhere. You can now react with 👍 ❤️ 😂 😮 😢 🎉 on trip posts, comments, group threads, DMs, blog posts, and more. Small thing, big difference in how alive the site feels.

Video call vetting inside DMs. Before you commit to traveling with someone, you can now start a video call directly from your DM thread — no app switch, no shared phone numbers. One click, instant room, peer-to-peer. It's probably the easiest way to do a quick "are we a good match?" check before booking anything.

Help Us Find More Good People

We put a lot of care into building a community worth being part of — and communities only grow through word of mouth.

If you've found a travel buddy here, had a great conversation in a group, or just like what we're building — tell someone about it. A message to a friend who travels, a share in a travel Facebook group, a mention in a subreddit you hang out in — it all adds up.

The more good people who find us, the better every trip listing, every group thread, and every connection becomes. We're not a big corporate travel platform trying to sell you a package holiday. We're a small community that gets better the more real travelers show up.

So: thank you for being here. And if you know someone who'd belong here too — send them our way.

👉 12travelbuddy.com

Questions, feedback, or just want to say hi? Drop a post in any of our groups — we read everything.

We quietly rolled out a bunch of improvements to the profile page, and honestly it was long overdue. Here's what's new and why we think you'll love it.

Tell people who you actually are

Until now, your profile was pretty bare-bones: a nickname, a photo, and a short "about me". That's not a lot to go on when you're deciding whether to reach out to a stranger and ask if they want to backpack Southeast Asia together.

So we added a whole new Travel Profile section. You can now share:

• Languages you speak — a huge deal when you're travelling together and need to navigate, negotiate, or just chat on a 12-hour bus ride

• Countries you've visited — because knowing someone's been to 40 countries (or 4!) says a lot about how they travel

• Your travel style — city tripper? Beach bum? Adventure seeker? Pick what fits

• Your travel pace — relaxed, average, or full-speed-ahead. Pace mismatches are one of the most common reasons travel buddies don't click, so let's surface this upfront

• Interests and hobbies — food, photography, hiking, live music — whatever makes you you

• Instagram — optional,

• All with privacy controls (more on that below)

Answer three short prompts

This is probably our favourite addition. Instead of staring at a blank "about me" box, you now have three prompts to answer:

1. Best trip so far — your highlight reel. Gets people talking.

2. My ideal travel buddy — what you're actually looking for, in plain words.

3. My travel dealbreakers — the honest stuff. Do you need your own room? Hate early mornings? Can't do hostels? Say it here so there are no surprises.

These answers show up on your public profile and give other members a real feel for whether you'd travel well together — way more than a list of countries ever could.

More gender options

The old gender field only had Male, Female, and "not specified". That's not good enough. You can now choose from:

• Male

• Female

• Non-binary

• Other

• Prefer not to say

Same goes for the "looking for" preference when posting a trip — we swapped the old "Male or Female" option for a simple Any, and added Non-binary as a standalone option.

A completion meter so you know where you stand

There's now a progress bar at the top of your profile page showing how complete your profile is, as a percentage. Fill in more sections, watch it go up. Simple, but it turns out having a number to chase actually works — just ask LinkedIn.

A complete profile means more people will reach out to you, and more people will say yes when you reach out to them.

Your privacy, your rules

Here's the part we're most proud of. Every new field has its own visibility setting, so you're in control of who sees what:

• Members only — only logged-in members of 12TravelBuddy can see this. This is the default for everything.

• Public — anyone who visits your profile can see it, even if they're not signed in.

• Connections only — only people you've accepted as connections can see it. This is the default for your Instagram handle specifically.

You set this per field, right there on the profile page, with a small dropdown next to each section. No digging through settings menus.

Go update your profile

Seriously — the more you fill in, the better your matches will be. Head to My Profile and spend ten minutes on it. Your future travel buddy is out there waiting.

Big Updates Just Dropped on 12TravelBuddy! 🌍✈️

Hey travel fam! We've been busy behind the scenes making some serious improvements to 12TravelBuddy, and we're super excited to share what's new. Let's dive in!

🔐 Important: Password Reset Required

The biggest change we made was migrating our database over to Supabase — a major upgrade that makes the platform faster, more reliable, and ready to scale as our community grows.

There's just one thing you'll need to do: reset your password before logging in again. We know, a tiny hassle — but it's a one-time thing and takes less than a minute. Just hit "Forgot Password" on the login page and you're good to go! 🙌

🔔 Push Notifications Are Finally Here!

You asked, we delivered. Push notifications are now live! Stay in the loop with updates, trip reminders, and everything happening on your account — no more missing out.

Make sure to allow notifications when prompted so you don't miss a thing.

🗺️ Introducing the Travel Planner

Planning your next adventure just got a whole lot easier. We've added a brand new Travel Planner to help you organize and manage your trips all in one place. Map out your itinerary, keep your plans tidy, and travel stress-free. Give it a try on your next trip!

📲 Install 12TravelBuddy for the Best Experience

Did you know you can install 12TravelBuddy directly on your phone or desktop? Add it to your home screen for a smoother, app-like experience — no app store needed. Look for the install prompt in your browser and tap install!

That's a wrap on this update! As always, thank you for being part of the 12TravelBuddy community. Got feedback or running into issues? Don't hesitate to reach out — we're always listening.

Happy travels! 🧳🌏

Ever had the feeling:
“I really want to travel… but I don’t have anyone to go with?”

Yeah — same here. And that’s exactly why 12TravelBuddy was created.

So… what is 12TravelBuddy?

Let’s start with the name, because it actually says everything.

“12” = “want to”
So 12TravelBuddy simply means:
👉 “Want to Travel Buddy”

It’s a question, an idea, and a starting point all in one.

Because let’s be honest — traveling is amazing, but it’s often even better when you share it with someone.

Why this platform exists

A lot of people want to travel more. But in reality, things get in the way:

• Your friends don’t have time (or money 💸)
• Your partner isn’t into the same destinations
• Solo travel feels a bit intimidating
• Or you just want to meet new people along the way

That’s where 12TravelBuddy comes in.

The goal is simple:
👉 Help people find a travel buddy and turn travel ideas into real trips

No complicated setup. No pressure. Just a place to connect with like-minded travelers.

What you can do here

Whether you’re a planner or more of a “book it tomorrow” type, this platform is for you.

On 12TravelBuddy, you’ll be able to:

• Find people who want to travel to the same destination
• Connect with travelers who match your vibe
• Share trip ideas and plans
• Turn “maybe someday” into “let’s go”

A safer way to connect 🔒

We’ve also built in a simple system to keep things comfortable and safe:

• You can send and receive connection requests
• You only become connected after the other person accepts
• Chat is only unlocked after a mutual connection

That means:
👉 You won’t receive random messages from strangers
👉 You stay in control of who you talk to

This way, you can focus on planning your trip — without unwanted messages or pressure.

Why a travel blog?

Good question.

This blog isn’t just here for updates — it’s here to help you actually travel better.

You’ll find:

• Travel tips and inspiration 🌍
• Advice on finding the right travel buddy
• Safety tips for traveling with new people
• Destination ideas and guides
• Stories and insights from real travelers

(And yes — this also helps people discover 12TravelBuddy when they’re searching for things like “find a travel buddy” or “travel with strangers safely” 😉)

Built for travelers, by travelers

12TravelBuddy is still growing — and that’s part of the journey.

It’s being built with one goal in mind:
👉 Make it easier for anyone to travel, even if they don’t have someone to go with (yet).

If you’re here early, you’re not just a user — you’re part of shaping what this becomes.

Ready to find your travel buddy?

Next time you think:
“I want to travel…”

You know what comes next.

👉 Find your travel buddy.

Welcome to 12TravelBuddy — where your next trip starts with a simple idea.

(Quick SEO recap — naturally included)

Travel buddy, find travel partner, travel with others, solo travel alternative, travel community — all in one place.

Let’s make travel more social. 🚀