Overview
Chisme is a women-only social app that helps women meet new friends through shared activities.
Many women want to do something — go to the theatre, play padel, try a new café — but their friends are unavailable. Chisme turns intentions into open invitations: someone creates a plan and other women nearby can join.
The app is intentionally women-only. Mixed friendship apps often become dating environments with unwanted messages; Chisme focuses on a safe space for genuine friendships.
Key impact
My role & responsibilities
As co-founder and product designer, I shaped the product from concept to live. My responsibilities included:
- defining the core product concept and interaction model
- designing the UX and interface of the mobile app
- creating the product’s design system in Figma
- designing key flows (onboarding, discovery, plan creation)
- collaborating with developers and iterating on the product after launch
Problem
Two core challenges: people rarely take initiative when meeting strangers (many waited for others to create activities), and even when they joined plans, starting conversations felt uncomfortable.
For the platform to work, users needed:
- a clear way to discover people and activities nearby
- a natural entry point for conversations
- a safe environment where interactions feel comfortable
Key design decisions
Several early design decisions shaped how the product works today.
Plan-based interaction model
Instead of swipe-based matching, Chisme is built around shared activities: users create real-life plans others can join, reducing the awkwardness of messaging strangers and creating natural reasons to interact.
Encouraging initiative
Early versions used a simple "+" button; many users overlooked it. Replacing it with the contextual CTA “Me apetece…” (“I feel like doing…”)significantly increased plan creation (effectively doubled).
Reducing conversation friction
Many users joined plans but hesitated to start conversations. Pre-written introduction messages let users send a friendly message with a single tap, helping conversations start more naturally.
Key product iterations
After launch, the product evolved based on user behavior. The following iterations address specific usability issues that emerged over time.
Improving map discovery
Early versions displayed every plan individually on the map; as plans grew, the interface became cluttered and hard to navigate.
Map clustering was introduced, grouping nearby plans when zoomed out. This improved readability and helped users understand activity density across the city.
Reorganizing conversations
The initial layout was a single chronological list; as conversations grew, important messages were easily missed. A tab-based structure was introduced with four categories: All, Unread, Direct messages, Plan conversations.
Encouraging notification activation
Many users skipped push notifications during onboarding and missed conversations. A persistent notification card was added to messaging and notifications screens until users enable updates. Push opt-in increased from 47% to 62%.
Key product flows
Core interactions of the product.
Onboarding flow
Users enter their name, confirm age, set location, and complete selfie verification before accessing the app. Onboarding completion rate: 75%.
Step 1
Enter name
Step 2
Verify age
Step 3
Set location
Step 4
Selfie verification
Step 5
Verification pending
People discovery flow
Map-based discovery and profile browsing; premium filters for distance, interests, and language.
Step 1
Discover people nearby
Step 2
Browse nearby people
Step 3
Apply filters
Step 4
Filtered results
Step 5
Start conversation
Plan creation flow
Users create plans by selecting activity, date, and location. Replacing the "+" icon with the CTA "Me apetece…" doubled plan creation.
Step 1
Discover nearby plans
Step 2
Create a new plan
Step 3
Choose location
Step 4
Publish the plan
Step 5
Start conversation
Design principles
Reduce social friction
Meeting strangers can feel uncomfortable. Interacting around shared plans rather than direct messaging reduces pressure.
Encourage initiative
Most users hesitate to take the first step. Contextual CTAs and quick message templates encourage participation.
Design for trust
With strangers connecting, safety and trust are critical. Identity verification and community-focused patterns create a comfortable environment.
Monetization
One of the hardest product decisions was messaging: in most social apps 1:1 messaging is free, but Chisme is built around group plans. Group chats inside plans remain free; direct 1:1 messaging requires a subscription.
This keeps focus on group activities while supporting the business model.
Growth & metrics
- 20K+ monthly active users
- 7-day retention: 13–16%
- More than 300 active plans currently running in Spain
App ratings:
- 4.7 App Store (500 reviews)
- 4.5 Google Play (350 reviews)
Monetized through subscriptions (premium discovery filters, direct messaging).
Learnings
Building Chisme changed how I think about product design. One of the biggest lessons: small UX decisions strongly influence user behavior — clearer CTAs or pre-written starters had a measurable impact on engagement.
Working with my co-founder (development) taught me to balance design with technical constraints, server costs, and startup realities.
Designing for a women-only community made trust and safety central: mandatory profile photos and richer profiles helped create a safer environment for joining plans.
This project also shifted my view on visual design: I used to focus on pixel-perfect visuals; now I see that structure, guardrails, and simplicity often matter more than visual polish.
Social products are complex. People rarely take the first step alone — good design means gently guiding behavior and iterating from real product data.