Familiar faces are everywhere on Commonwealth Avenue. They may pass a smile or a courteous wave, but sometimes their names go completely unknown.

BU juniors Joseph Marotta, Frank Yang and Jodi Yu aim to change this with the creation of their newly developed app, MissedConnections.

“Maybe it’s someone that you [see at] the gym at the same time every single day, but you never get the chance to talk to them,” Marotta said. “The people that you’re meeting on our app are already part of your daily routine.”

Upon signing in to the app, users are greeted by an interactive map of BU’s campus. Every time one user passes another, that location is pinged on the map, and the users are considered a “connection.” 

From there, both users — who may otherwise have never spoken to each other — are able to connect and message each other through the platform.

The team began working on the concept in 2024 during BostonHacks, BU’s largest annual student-run hackathon. 

At this event, teams of up to four students compete to create an app in 24 hours that solves one of that year’s prompts. 

Marotta’s team was tasked with creating an app that improves people’s social wellbeing. 

Although the team didn’t win, they left with a prototype and an invitation to join BU’s Spark! Technology Innovation Fellowship Course, a class where students work with the University’s Spark!, an experiential learning lab, and industry mentors to continue developing their apps.

Throughout the spring and summer, the team continued working on the project, bolstered by Spark! and student-run design firm BU FORGE. The team launched MissedConnections on the App Store this fall. 

Now, Marotta said the team has closed their computers and stepped into the world of marketing. The team began tabling, posting flyers and attending events like Comm. Ave. Fest, where they handed out tote bags and stickers.

The team also started an Instagram page in August, and began posting on TikTok in September.

“Promoting it on social media is a big [way to draw in students] because a lot of students, especially college students, tend to use social media,” said junior Gianna DelRosso. “Making content videos about the app will definitely draw more engagement.”

Freshman Zach Derhake said as a computer science major, he understands the difficulty of creating an app and getting it to succeed.

“ It needs to get to everyone, and that could happen really quick if it’s viral,” Derhake said. “But I don’t think it’s gonna work because the only way that the product is valuable is if the whole school uses it.”

Despite this limitation, however, Derhake sees the app’s potential.

“There’s a lot of social media-type apps, and this one has a unique spin on it,” he said.

With less than two years left as undergraduate students, Marotta said the current team needs to expand.

“We want to bring on underclassmen, have more people working on this project, so that when we graduate, we can pass the torch to another set of students who can continue building it, adding new features and catering it to what the needs of BU are,” Marotta said.

The app’s goal is for users to develop connections not just within the app but also beyond it, Marotta said. Once two users are matched, they can view upcoming local events through the app, so they can meet in person, if they want.

“We really want to foster these new friendships and get them beyond the app,” he said. “We just want to be a meeting point.”

Frank Yang is a current opinion columnist at The Daily Free Press. He was not involved in the reporting, writing or editing of this article.