Questions
Everything people ask before their first boat
What is Adrift?
Adrift is a place where people write messages and launch them into the sea in small boats. Each boat travels from person to person, around the world: whoever receives it reads the accumulated messages, can write their own and sends the boat on its way.
You can follow your boat's route live on a world map: it can dock in up to 195 countries, and each port responds in the language of that country.
Is it a social network?
There are no likes, followers or feed. Just the boat and the path it takes. There is no profile to build, no follower count, and nothing to scroll.
Is Adrift anonymous?
Yes. Boats are the stars, not people. You never learn who wrote a message you received, and nobody learns who wrote yours.
Whoever receives a gift can say thank you, and the thank-you arrives in your Messages screen. It is a ready-made phrase with no name: you learn that the gesture arrived, not who you spoke to.
Can I send a direct message to someone?
No, and that is deliberate. Adrift has no private messaging of any kind — everything travels inside a boat, in the open, to whoever it reaches next. Even the thank-you note for a gift is a fixed phrase you pick, never free text.
Does it cost anything?
No. Adrift is free, and there is nothing to buy inside it. Gifts you leave on other people’s boats are earned by playing, never purchased.
Where does it run?
Adrift works in the browser, on the computer and on the cell phone. You can also install it on Android (iOS coming soon) and receive a notification when a boat is approaching you.
What language is it in?
Adrift speaks English, Portuguese, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Hindi and Japanese, and it picks yours automatically. Messages that arrive in a language you do not read can be translated inside the app, so a boat from Japan is still worth opening.
How does my boat grow?
Every message received strengthens the hull; every country visited opens new seas. The boat evolves on its own, through eight forms:
The eight hulls are Novata, Enseada, Costeira, Oceânica, Errante, Bravia, Soberana, Nau Lendária — Novata (where every ship begins), Enseada (10 messages), Costeira (25 messages), Oceânica (60 messages), Errante (120 messages · 40 countries), Bravia (250 messages · 80 countries), Soberana (450 messages · 120 countries), Nau Lendária (800 messages · 160 countries).
Very few ships become Legendary Ships. Those who get there become part of the history of the ocean.
What are gifts?
A gift is the only thing besides words that travels in a boat. You leave one on a stranger's boat; it sails on richer, and whoever launched it watches the treasure grow without ever knowing who gave it.
What you have to give lives in the Chest. Giving costs nothing: an unlocked gift is yours forever, and you can leave it on as many boats as you like.
Does a journey ever end?
Every voyage ends. Once your boat has known five countries, you can call it home — and it takes real days to return, retracing the path it sailed.
When it docks at home, three things happen: the gifts it gathered pass into your chest, it becomes a painting in the Harbour Museum, and its name enters the Legends tab of the Ranking, forever.
A boat brought home never sails again. That is why the return is a decision, not an accident.
Can other people read my messages on the internet?
No. A journey you share shows the route — ports, miles, days, how many people wrote — and never the text. People who write on Adrift are writing to a boat that passes between strangers, not to a public page.
How do I get in touch?
Found a bug, want to suggest something, or just tell us how it went? Write to us — your word is valuable to us. contact@adriftapp.fun