About Bump
Built by a Western alumni, for other students.
The idea
University is supposed to be the easiest time in your life to meet people. For a lot of students, it isn't.
You see the same faces every week — in line at the coffee shop, two seats across in lecture, on the treadmill at the gym — and you almost-meet, over and over again. There's a growing sense of camaraderie, but no easy way to act on it without making it awkward.
And then the semester ends. The person you walked past 40 times is gone, the class disperses, and that's it — goodbye, forever. A whole semester can pass like that.
Bump helps make connection for students. Turning almost-encounters into actual conversations, meaningful friendships, and a broader network for students — before the semester runs out.
The loneliness problem
Roughly 70% of university students report significant loneliness — about three times the rate of the general population. It's 2 out of 3 people you meet on campus. And that's fine, except it has real consequences on students' health, success, and academia.
The issue isn't a lack of people. It's the invisible barrier that exists — the fear of being awkward, of being rejected, of saying hi to a stranger and looking crazy in front of everyone you'll see for the next four years.
This makes it difficult for students to make connections, even when they need it.
And it makes sense to keep us safe, but on a university campus where everyone is a friend, are in the same age-group, has ambitions, vetted by the university, and often share the same interests, courses, hobbies, and experiences — it mostly just keeps people apart, from possibilities.
Bump is a quiet bypass for that barrier.
Our Goal
Bump wants to make student connections easier by helping students across the invisible barriers that make it hard to connect with others. Making friends is surprisingly hard in university. We want to offer a tool for students in making connections and networks on campus — even if they are shy, introverted, or are simply buried in courseload. Bump only ever shows you people you've already crossed paths with in real life. Bump is built by your day, around your day, with the people you saw today on campus — not by an algorithm or an online profile of people you don't know.
And every message and contact is temporary by design — 30 hours, then it disappears. Only if the students are added as friends, it stays. There's no pressure to perform, no DM that lingers for months, no social ledger to maintain.
Student Safety is Top of Mind
Real life first
Bump only matters because of what happens off-screen. The app should fade into the background.
Privacy by default
Your profile is private until you choose to share it. We don't sell data, and we never will.
Low pressure
Chats expire. Friend adds are mutual. There's no streak, no leaderboard, nothing to keep up with.
Built for Western
We started at UWO because we know UWO. Every feature is shaped by what campus actually feels like.
Why this exists
Bump was born from personal experience. Founded by a Western alum who struggled with loneliness during the four years at Western, and missed a lot of meaningful connections because the barrier to saying hi to a stranger felt insurmountable.
A lot of students are quietly carrying the same thing. Bump is the tool we wish we'd had.
The team
Bump is a small, independent project run by a Western alum. There's no VC backing, no big team, no growth-hacking playbook — just a lot of testing on real devices.