Show HN: Photerra – One app to discover hidden gems, plan with friends, and book(photerra.com)
photerra.com
Show HN: Photerra – One app to discover hidden gems, plan with friends, and book
https://www.photerra.com/
3 comments
i think a webapp would be nice, and useful for you too.. people like to plan on the computer + you can generate SEO from that. auto generate a TOP 10 list for every city etc.
Appreciate this! Agreed - travel planning often happens at a computer. We started mobile because that’s where photos live and EXIF capture is easiest, but a web version is on the way. Any initial thoughts on what would make it most useful for you?
Quick links:
• Web: https://photerra.com.
• iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/photerra/id1621490090.
• Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.photer....
• Privacy/Terms: https://photerra.com/privacy · https://photerra.com/terms.
One way to try it:
1. Install → sign in (Apple/Google/email).
2. Add spots from your camera roll (we read EXIF GPS) or drop pins manually.
3. Build a trip: drag spots into days, share with friends.
4. From your plan, open provider deep links to finish booking.
Or just explore: open the map and use the filter dropdown to browse seeded spots in your area.
For local exploring too! You don't need a trip planned. Walk your neighborhood, save spots from recent photos, then tap any spot → "Open in Maps" or "Ride with Uber/Lyft." Fast way to turn "I should check that place out" into actually going.
Seeded areas (actively adding content): San Francisco, Portland, San Diego, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Philadelphia, Yosemite & Sequoia National Parks, Mexico City. If you're local and want to help seed spots, reach out!
Known limitations:
• EXIF stripped? (common with cloud exports) → You can still add spots manually via map.
• Large photo dumps: Clustering is on; first load may take a moment on older devices.
• Offline maps and more export formats are on the roadmap.
Coming soon:
• Instant Add (bulk upload): Dump a backlog of photos and auto-create map spots in one pass (titles/categories are quick-editable). Shipping shortly; I'll update this thread when live.
• Fine-tuning affiliate links.
FAQs:
• Why not just use ChatGPT/LLMs for trip planning?
LLMs pull from the same public POI datasets and listicles everyone sees. Photerra builds from user-contributed, photo-verified GPS coordinates — more off-path, high-signal spots, less recycled top-10s. (You can still use AI helpers inside Photerra, but the core data is different).
• Why require sign-in?
Needed for sync and abuse prevention. Exploring a guest mode based on feedback here.
• Privacy?
Delete your account in-app anytime. No ad-tech. EXIF is optional (manual pins work fine). Standard analytics and crash logs only. Full details: photerra.com/privacy.
• Export options?
PDF export available for trip itineraries; other formats on the roadmap.
Related HN threads:
• Show HN: Ikuyo — a Travel Planning Web Application.
• Show HN: Ambulate — Detailed Trip Planning.
• Show HN: Itineraries.io — joint trip planner.
• Show HN: I built a web app to open source travel itineraries.
• Show HN: Myphotos.site — Make a gallery website from Google Photos.
• Show HN: Travel Guide Tool — Personalized Recs & Itineraries.
Around for questions and feedback. Email works too (on the site). Thanks for checking it out!
• Web: https://photerra.com.
• iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/photerra/id1621490090.
• Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.app.photer....
• Privacy/Terms: https://photerra.com/privacy · https://photerra.com/terms.
One way to try it:
1. Install → sign in (Apple/Google/email).
2. Add spots from your camera roll (we read EXIF GPS) or drop pins manually.
3. Build a trip: drag spots into days, share with friends.
4. From your plan, open provider deep links to finish booking.
Or just explore: open the map and use the filter dropdown to browse seeded spots in your area.
For local exploring too! You don't need a trip planned. Walk your neighborhood, save spots from recent photos, then tap any spot → "Open in Maps" or "Ride with Uber/Lyft." Fast way to turn "I should check that place out" into actually going.
Seeded areas (actively adding content): San Francisco, Portland, San Diego, Los Angeles, Hawaii, Philadelphia, Yosemite & Sequoia National Parks, Mexico City. If you're local and want to help seed spots, reach out!
Known limitations:
• EXIF stripped? (common with cloud exports) → You can still add spots manually via map.
• Large photo dumps: Clustering is on; first load may take a moment on older devices.
• Offline maps and more export formats are on the roadmap.
Coming soon:
• Instant Add (bulk upload): Dump a backlog of photos and auto-create map spots in one pass (titles/categories are quick-editable). Shipping shortly; I'll update this thread when live.
• Fine-tuning affiliate links.
FAQs:
• Why not just use ChatGPT/LLMs for trip planning?
LLMs pull from the same public POI datasets and listicles everyone sees. Photerra builds from user-contributed, photo-verified GPS coordinates — more off-path, high-signal spots, less recycled top-10s. (You can still use AI helpers inside Photerra, but the core data is different).
• Why require sign-in?
Needed for sync and abuse prevention. Exploring a guest mode based on feedback here.
• Privacy?
Delete your account in-app anytime. No ad-tech. EXIF is optional (manual pins work fine). Standard analytics and crash logs only. Full details: photerra.com/privacy.
• Export options?
PDF export available for trip itineraries; other formats on the roadmap.
Related HN threads:
• Show HN: Ikuyo — a Travel Planning Web Application.
• Show HN: Ambulate — Detailed Trip Planning.
• Show HN: Itineraries.io — joint trip planner.
• Show HN: I built a web app to open source travel itineraries.
• Show HN: Myphotos.site — Make a gallery website from Google Photos.
• Show HN: Travel Guide Tool — Personalized Recs & Itineraries.
Around for questions and feedback. Email works too (on the site). Thanks for checking it out!
Photerra turns geolocated photos into map spots you can organize into trips, share with friends, and book from — all in one flow.
The core idea: photos with GPS → actual spots on a map → drag into trip days → share → book.
What makes Photerra different:
• Real locations, not just POIs — Your photos have EXIF GPS data, so you're adding exact spots (that actual spot on the trail, not just “Yosemite” - no address needed).
• End-to-end flow — Discover → plan → coordinate → book, without switching between 5 apps.
• Photo-grounded data — Community spots come from real photos, not scraped listicles, so you find more off-path places.
• Works for everyday wandering — Not just big trips. Save local spots and open them in Maps or Uber with one tap.
Try it: iOS and Android apps are live (links in comments). I've seeded content in SF, Portland, LA, San Diego, Hawaii, Philly, Yosemite, and Mexico City.
Tech: React Native + RN-Maps on mobile; NestJS + TypeORM/MySQL + AWS on backend.
What I'd love feedback on:
• Is the photo→spot→trip flow intuitive on first use?
• What's missing to make this truly start-to-finish for your trips?
• Any friction in auth, maps, or sharing?
Be blunt — it's helpful. Happy to answer questions!
— David (solo, first-time founder)