Glossary · plain-English definitions
Every term we use, in plain English.
Personality psychology, end-to-end encryption, and friendship UX have their own jargon. This glossary defines every term Are We Friends? uses, written for a smart non-expert. One page per term, cross-linked, sourced.
Big Five personality
/glossary/big-five-personalityThe five-factor model — Openness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism — used by Are We Friends? for friend matching.
IPIP-NEO-120
/glossary/ipip-neo-120A public-domain 120-item Big Five personality test scoring 30 facets across 5 domains. The instrument Are We Friends? uses.
Facet (personality)
/glossary/facetA narrower personality dimension underneath one of the five Big Five domains. Friends? matches on facets, not just domains.
Five-factor model (FFM)
/glossary/five-factor-modelSynonym for Big Five. The personality framework most psychologists use, which Are We Friends? uses for matching.
Myers–Briggs (MBTI)
/glossary/mbtiA 16-type personality system. Friends? doesn't use it — we use the Big Five — but explains how the two map onto each other.
End-to-end encryption (E2EE)
/glossary/end-to-end-encryptionA messaging architecture where only the two parties can decrypt a message. The server never sees plaintext. Friends? DMs use this.
XChaCha20-Poly1305
/glossary/xchacha20-poly1305An authenticated symmetric encryption algorithm used to encrypt every Are We Friends? DM payload.
X25519
/glossary/x25519An elliptic-curve key agreement protocol. Are We Friends? uses it to wrap the per-thread DM keys.
Argon2id
/glossary/argon2idA memory-hard password-hashing function. Are We Friends? uses it to derive your master encryption key from your passphrase.
Bry_NFET_SX
/glossary/bry-nfet-sxAre We Friends?'s internal name for our end-to-end encryption stack — XChaCha20-Poly1305 + X25519 + Argon2id.
Off-platform meeting
/glossary/off-platform-meetingAn in-person hangout between two members that happens after a match. The single metric Are We Friends? optimizes for.
Plan-the-Hang
/glossary/plan-the-hangThe Friend? AI feature that drafts a complete first-meetup plan — venue, time, conversation starters — the moment you match.
Friend? AI
/glossary/friend-aiThe in-app AI companion that runs Plan-the-Hang and answers questions about your matches, friends, and personality profile.
Match Score
/glossary/match-scoreThe 0–100 number on every match card representing how compatible two members are by Big Five + shared interests + proximity.
Fan
/glossary/fanOn Are We Friends?, a fan is someone who has expressed interest (sent a friend request, followed) but isn't yet an accepted friend.
Friend request
/glossary/friend-requestA one-tap action to ask another member to be your friend on Are We Friends?. Pending until accepted, declined, or expired.
Match deck
/glossary/match-deckThe swipe-style stack of personality-matched candidates on /matches, ranked by Match Score and refreshed every 12 hours.
Loneliness epidemic
/glossary/loneliness-epidemicThe well-documented rise in adult social isolation. Cited by the U.S. Surgeon General in 2023 as a public health emergency.
Surgeon General Advisory (loneliness)
/glossary/surgeon-general-advisoryThe 2023 U.S. Surgeon General report that classified loneliness as a public health emergency comparable to smoking.
Psychometric
/glossary/psychometricOf or relating to the measurement of psychological traits. The IPIP-NEO-120 is a psychometric instrument.
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