New edition · 20 September 2026 · IMS Hub Editorial
Being in a new place can make a familiar interest especially valuable. Another student who enjoys the same sport, creative work or subject can give you a natural reason to say hello. Connect’s nearby discovery helps you look for those starting points through profiles from eligible people in your area.
Nearby discovery begins with a live session. That session is a temporary choice to participate in nearby discovery, so it is worth understanding the start control, the status you see and the moment you want to stop.
Start with the Connect button
Finish the account, bio, community-standards and photo steps shown in your readiness checklist. Then open Connect and press and hold the Connect button until its progress bar completes. Follow the foreground-location permission prompt when it appears.
The app uses a recent location reading to establish nearby eligibility. It can show a finding-location or connecting state while this happens. Wait for the session to become active before treating the screen as confirmation that you are participating.
If the reading cannot be obtained, follow the message and try again when location permission and connectivity are available. Choosing a university or writing a city in your bio does not replace the nearby-location check. The university-community route has a different purpose and its own affiliation requirements.
Read the live status as you browse
A nearby live session lasts up to 24 hours, and the active-session card shows time remaining. Discovery also depends on sufficiently fresh foreground location. If Connect asks you to Refresh location, use that control and check the result before continuing.
Foreground location means readings taken while the app is active for this purpose; Connect does not request background location tracking. Other students are not shown your precise coordinates or a distance to you. The service uses private rounded position data for the active nearby session, rather than making a map of your position available to people browsing.
The phrase “nearby” matters. Discovery uses proximity checks, so a displayed city label is context rather than a promise that every person is inside the same city boundary. The list also depends on who is eligible and available to appear at that time.
Look for a reason to open a profile
Read the bio, photos and any approved affiliation the person has chosen to show. Look for a concrete point of connection instead of treating the list as a task to complete. A shared interest may be enough to make an introduction worthwhile even when your degree subjects differ.
For example, imagine that you have recently started learning photography. A profile about weekend photo walks could be relevant because it gives you something specific to discuss. You can open that profile and decide whether to request an introduction.
An empty or short list is not a verdict on your profile. Nearby participation changes, and there may be few eligible profiles to show. Check any location or allowance message, then return at another time if you want. There is no need to rewrite your bio simply because a session is quiet.
End the session when you are finished
Use the eye-off control, labelled Go invisible for accessibility, on the active-session card to end nearby visibility. Wait for the app to confirm the change. Closing the screen is not a substitute for checking whether that action succeeded.
An approved university-community preference is separate, as are contact methods already shared through accepted introductions. Review those choices individually if your intention is a broader pause.
When a profile does interest you, Request introduction opens the contact-method choices. Conversations begin in an external service after acceptance. Explore Connect in IMS Hub with a session length and pace that fit your day.
خلاصهٔ فارسی
برای شروع جستوجوی افراد نزدیک، در صفحهٔ Connect دکمهٔ Connect را نگه دارید تا نوار پیشرفت کامل شود. برنامه برای این کار از موقعیت مکانی در حالت فعال استفاده میکند. مدت جلسه حداکثر ۲۴ ساعت است و ممکن است به تازهسازی موقعیت نیاز باشد. با کنترل Go invisible جلسهٔ نزدیکیابی را پایان دهید و تأیید تغییر را بررسی کنید. نمایش در جامعهٔ دانشگاهی و راههای ارتباطیِ قبلاً بهاشتراکگذاشتهشده، تنظیمات جداگانه دارند.
