Combating loneliness by helping adults find real friends through shared interests
Sidekick is the anti-social-media app — a platform that uses 2,500+ curated interest categories and opt-in personal filters to move people off their screens and into real-world friendships.
1,000+
Users
100+
Communities
2,000+
Events Created
2,500+
Interest Categories
5
Official Partners
This app, I truly believe, will become a household name and be phenomenally successful. You’ve done really good, and deserve to be wildly successful. Bravo!
This is exactly the type of app I would like to use. Trying to make friends is difficult as an adult and I could see myself using this app to make more friends.
Seems like a great idea to connect people without the negative effects of social media. It appears to offer a better and more positive place to meet people.
From a usability study of 100 volunteers who tested Sidekick for 30+ minutes
the problem
They started with good intentions. They got greedy.
The platforms that promised to connect us have instead become engines of isolation,
addiction, and manipulation.
Addictive by Design
Infinite scroll, autoplay, and notification bombardment — all engineered to keep you glued to your screen.
Algorithms Over Agency
You don’t choose what you see. An algorithm decides — based on what keeps you engaged longest, not what’s best for you.
Fake Connection
Likes, follows, and comments create the illusion of friendship without any of the substance.
Engagement Over Wellbeing
Infinite scroll, autoplay, and notification bombardment — all engineered to keep you glued to your screen.
More Connected, More Alone
Your attention, your data, your behavior — all packaged and sold to advertisers. The platform profits, you pay.
OUR APPROACH
A fundamentally different philosophy
While social media platforms optimize for engagement and ad revenue, Sidekick was designed from day one to do the opposite.
Social Media
Make the users the product
Profit from their addiction
Algorithms decide what you see
Engagement metrics over wellbeing
Designed for screen time
Sidekick
Help people get off their phones and into the real world
Help community leaders extend their reach
User agency over algorithms
No ads, no bots, no AI slop
Strong content moderation and radical authenticity
We Choose
Real Relationships
over engagement metrics
We Choose
In-Person Connection
over screen time
We Choose
Community Health
over advertising revenue
WHAT IS SIDEKICK
This isn’t social media. It’s the opposite.
Sidekick is a social catalyst — a platform designed to move people off their phones and into the real world through shared interests and local connection.
Communities
Join groups based on what you actually love — from hiking to book clubs to board games. Real people, real interests, real connections.
Events
Discover things happening near you or create your own. Every event is an invitation to show up, try something new, and meet someone new.
Kickits
Our signature feature — anonymous, interest-based activity suggestions that start with “Let’s…” Because sometimes all it takes is someone saying, “Who’s in?”
KEY FEATURES
They started with good intentions. They got greedy.
Sidekick gives you powerful tools for real connection — without the noise, manipulation, or
privacy invasion of traditional social platforms.
Posts, Chats & Alerts
Communicate with your communities through posts that reach 100% of members — no algorithm filtering your content. Direct messaging for one-on-one connections.
Smart Discovery
Eight powerful filters help you find exactly what you’re looking for — by interest, location, date, community type, and more. No algorithmic manipulation.
Kickits
Our signature feature lets you suggest activities anonymously. “Let’s go kayaking this weekend!” — and watch as interested people raise their hands.
Community Analytics
Admins get real insights — member counts, engagement trends, and growth metrics — without invasive tracking or individual behavior data.
Safety & Moderation
Every community has a real, named human admin. Report tools, content guidelines, and a dedicated safety team keep the platform trustworthy.
Kickits
Sidekick surfaces real events happening in your area from public sources — concerts, workshops, meetups — so you always know what’s going on nearby.
HOW IT WORKS
From download to community in four steps
No algorithms deciding what you see. No AI pretending to be your friend. Just a straightforward path to real connection.
1
Download Sidekick
Free on iOS and Android. Create your profile in under two minutes.
2
Choose Your Interests
Pick from 2,500+ curated categories across 10 dimensions — from watercolors to astrophysics.
3
Find Your People
Discover communities, events, and Kickits that match what you love. Everything is local and real.
4
Show Up
That’s it. Go to the event. Join the group. Say hello. Sidekick handles the finding — you handle the friendship.
THE ENGINE BEHIND THE CONNECTION
2,500+ Hand-Curated Interest Categories
While most social platforms use broad categories or keyword tags, Sidekick has built a structured, hand-curated taxonomy of over 2,500 interest categories organized into 10 domains. Users can match at exactly the level of specificity they want — from “Music” down to “Bluegrass Banjo.”
🤝
Friendship & Camaraderie
28
Catergories
🎨
Arts & Music
466
Catergories
🎬
Entertainment
516
Catergories
🧘
Health, Wellness & Spirituality
98
Catergories
🎲
Hobbies & Games
238
Catergories
🏡
Home & Garden
65
Catergories
📚
Knowledge & Inquiry
401
Catergories
🌲
Nature & Outdoors
95
Catergories
🤲
Service & Community
53
Catergories
⚽
Sports & Exercise
281
Catergories
BEYOND INTERESTS
300+ Optional Personal Filters
Interests tell us what you like. Personal filters tell us who you are — so we can help you find people you’ll actually click with.
Matching on what matters
Sidekick offers over 300 optional personal filters across 7 dimensions. Every filter is opt-in — you share only what you want. Together with 2,500+ interests, this creates roughly 3,000 distinct matching dimensions.
The result: you don’t just find people who like the same things. You find people who get you.
Languages
100+ languages to find people who speak yours
Neurodiversity
Connect with people who share your neurotype
Personality Type
Introvert? Extrovert? Find your match
Status
Filter by sexual orientation and gender identity
Substance Use
Sober-friendly or social — your preference
Situation & Status
New to town, retired, parent, veteran, and more
WHAT WE LEFT OUT
What Sidekick deliberately doesn’t have
We didn’t just build different features — we deliberately left out the ones designed to exploit you.
No Ads
Ever. Your attention is not for sale.
No Algorithmic Feed
You decide what you see. Not an algorithm optimizing for engagement.
No Bots or AI Personas
Every account is a real human. Period.
No Vanity Metrics
No likes, no follower counts, no public popularity scores.
No Infinite Scroll
Designed to get you off the app and into the world.
No Cross-App Tracking
We don’t follow you around the internet. Your data stays here.
OUR FOUNDERS
Your privacy is not for sale
Most apps bury their privacy policy because they don’t want you to read it. We built ours to
be a selling point.
No Data Sales Ever
We will never sell, license, or share your personal data with third parties. Full stop.
No Cross-App Tracking
We don’t track you across apps or websites. No pixels, no fingerprinting, no surveillance.
Your Identity Protected
Hide your community memberships. Control what others can see. Your participation, your rules.
OUR FOUNDERS
Built by people, for people
A husband-and-wife team who left their careers to solve the loneliness crisis — one friendship at a time.
LKI
Laura Krebs Illig
CEO & Co-Founder
Artist and entrepreneur with a vision for a new America. Passionate about community and willing to fight to bring us (back) together.
RI
Robert Illig
President, COO & Co-Founder
Law professor and business
strategist. Bringing legal expertise
and strategic vision to the
connection economy.
Woman-owned
Mission-driven
Built in Eugene, Oregon
Let’s Re-Build the Connection Economy Together
Whether you’re a potential partner, community organization, or someone
who believes technology should bring people together — we’d love to hear
from you.