You know your neighbors' WiFi names better than their actual names.
Vicinity helps you actually know the people on your street—without the toxicity of other apps.
Starting in the Fan District.
We live next to strangers.
And the apps that were supposed to fix this? They made it worse.
Crime Alerts & Political Rants
You joined to borrow a ladder. Now it's just strangers from 5 miles away arguing about leaf blowers.
Algorithms Pushing Outrage
Platforms profit from engagement. Your feed is whatever makes you angriest, not what helps you connect.
No Idea Who Actually Lives Here
You've seen them walking dogs for three years. You still don't know their names. This shouldn't be normal.
Imagine actually knowing your neighbors.
Borrow a ladder without it being weird
You know who has what. They know you'll return it. That's what neighbors do.
Someone's watching your packages
Not because there's a crime problem. Because you asked in the group and Jamie said "I'm home all day, I got you."
Trusted recommendations from people you know
You need a plumber. Sarah three doors down used one last month. She vouches for him. Done.
Kids playing between yards
Because you know the parents. They know you. The street becomes the backyard.
"Anyone around for a porch beer?"
Post at 6pm. By 6:30, four neighbors are on your porch. That's the magic of knowing who's actually around.
How it works
(the anti-Nextdoor playbook)
You prove you live here
Not with a utility bill upload or credit check. Your phone quietly learns your home's location over 3-7 days. Privacy-first, verified neighbors only.
Join your street's private group
10-50 households max. That's it. No citywide noise, no algorithm picking fights. Just the people you'd actually wave to.
Chronological feed, zero algorithms
What you see is what people posted, in order, as it happened. No engagement tricks. No outrage bait. Just neighbors talking.
Built in Richmond, for Richmond
Hey, I'm Ryan. I live in the Fan District. I built Vicinity because I was tired of knowing my neighbors' car makes better than their actual names.
This isn't venture capital trying to "disrupt" neighborhood connection. It's one neighbor building a tool for the rest of us—starting with the streets I walk every day.
We're launching with 15-30 households on 1-2 Fan District streets first. If it works, we'll grow. If it doesn't, at least we tried something better than what's out there.
—Ryan Chappell
Fan District resident, Vicinity founder
Be one of the first 50 households on your street
We're hand-selecting 15-30 founding members from 1-2 Fan District streets.
You'll help shape how this works. Your feedback will directly influence what we build. And you'll be part of the proof that neighbors can actually know each other again.
Spots are limited. If you're in the Fan District and you're tired of living next to strangers, join the waitlist.
We'll email you when we're ready to onboard your street.
No spam. Just updates when it matters.
Questions you might have
Three big differences:
- Street-level only (10-50 households, not citywide)
- No algorithms—chronological feed, no engagement tricks
- Verified neighbors only (you prove you live here, no randos)
We're not trying to be a "community platform." We're trying to help you know the people on your actual street.
Your phone learns your home's location pattern over 3-7 days (when you're sleeping, weekends, etc.). All processing happens on your device. We only see "verified: yes/no"—never your coordinates.
It's like how your phone knows your "home" for navigation, but privacy-first and neighbor-specific.
Vicinity isn't for you, and that's okay. The whole point is knowing who lives where. If that feels uncomfortable, existing neighborhood apps might be a better fit.
(We're building for people who want to know their neighbors.)
Block, mute, report—all built in. But we also design for friction:
- 15-second delay before posts go live (gives you time to reconsider)
- No algorithms pushing outrage
- Small groups (harder to be toxic when you see people on the street)
- Clear community guidelines from day one
We're not naive. But we think small, verified groups + intentional friction can work.
Free for founding members during the pilot. After we prove this works, probably $5-10/month (freemium model—core features stay free).
We're not ad-supported. We're not selling your data. If this works, we'll charge a fair price for a valuable service.
Bare minimum:
- Email, name, verified address (street + number)
- Verification status (boolean: verified/not verified)
- Posts, DMs, reports (stored for moderation)
We don't store location coordinates. We don't track you outside the app. We don't sell data. Privacy policy will be public before launch.
Then we failed, and you should leave. Seriously.
We're designing against toxicity from the start: street-level groups, no algorithms, posting friction, clear guidelines. But if it goes sideways, we'll own it and shut it down before it becomes a dumpster fire.
Our goal is knowing neighbors, not growth at all costs.
Ready to actually know your neighbors?
Join the waitlist. We'll email you when we're onboarding your street.
Starting in the Fan District, Richmond VA