About Planet‑X

What each thing does

• The planetSee the whole world, and where your people are in it.

  It’s 9 at night and your mother wants to call Anu in Toronto. Is it too early there? You spin the globe. Toronto is in late-morning sun. She calls.

  How it works

  1. Drag to spin. Pinch, or press + and −, to zoom.
  2. Tap a country to open it: its name, its stories and the people standing there.
  3. The dark side is night. It moves with the real sun, so you can always see who’s awake.

  Who can use itAnyone.

• Become a citizenPut yourself on the planet.

  You pick a face and stand in Chennai. Your cousin in Singapore does the same. On the globe you are two faces across the Bay of Bengal, one swipe apart.

  How it works

  1. Press Become a citizen and continue with Google.
  2. Pick a face and a username. Your real name and email are never shown.
  3. Choose your country and state. Your face appears there on the globe.

  Who can use itAnyone. It’s free, and you need it to leave anything on the planet.

• TodaySomething new every day.

  Every night after dinner, your father opens Today. A new quote, a new question, a few small finds from around the world. Tomorrow it will all be different, so he comes back.

  How it works

  1. Press Today.
  2. Open any row: the day’s quote, the World Question, a dig for a secret.
  3. Come back tomorrow. Everything changes with the day.

  Who can use itAnyone. Answering the World Question needs a citizen.

• The World QuestionOne question. The whole world answers.

  Today’s question is “Do you eat dinner with your family most nights?” You say yes, then see how Canada, Germany and Japan answered. You send it to your cousin in Vancouver: “Is this true where you are?”

  How it works

  1. Open Play → Answer the World Question.
  2. Pick your answer. You get one answer a day.
  3. See how each country answered.

  Who can use itSeeing answers: anyone. Answering: citizens.

• Dig straight downWhere would you come out?

  Your daughter asks, “If I dig through the Earth from our house, where do I come out?” You press Dig together and watch the drill go down. From India, you come out in the open Pacific Ocean, far west of South America. From most places, it’s the sea.

  How it works

  1. Open Play → Dig straight down.
  2. Pick a spot, or start from where you are.
  3. Watch the drill go through the Earth and come out on the exact opposite side.
  4. Open any secret buried near where you come out. Digging is the only way to find secrets.

  Who can use itAnyone can dig. Opening a secret you find needs a citizen.

• StoriesTrue moments, pinned where they happened.

  Your grandfather worked at the Kochi port in 1975. You place his story right there, at the water’s edge. Your cousin in Canada, who has never been to Kochi, finds it on the globe and reads it in the place it happened.

  How it works

  1. To read: open Play → Read a story, or tap a paper mark on the globe.
  2. To tell: open Go → Tell a story. Pick the place, write what happened, preview it, then place it.
  3. Your story stays at that place for anyone who visits.

  Who can use itReading: anyone. Telling: citizens.

• Remember someoneA place on Earth to remember them.

  Your aunt passed away in Kerala. Her children live in Dubai, London and Sydney, and not all of them could travel home. One of them places a light for her in her village. The others, from three countries, each light a candle beside it.

  How it works

  1. Open Go → Remember someone.
  2. Pick the place they belonged. Write their name and a few words, then preview.
  3. After a short check, the light appears there.
  4. Anyone who finds it can light a candle beside it.

  Who can use itPlacing a light: citizens. Lighting a candle: anyone.

• SecretsSay it, without your name.

  You moved abroad ten years ago and never told your father how much you miss home. You bury it as a secret, with no name on it. One night a stranger digs through the planet, comes out near your country, finds it and knows exactly how you feel.

  How it works

  1. Open Go → Bury a secret.
  2. Write it, choose the country to bury it in and preview it.
  3. We check it first, to keep the planet kind.
  4. It lies in the ground with no name on it. It never shows on the globe: someone has to dig near it to find it.
  5. To find secrets yourself, open Play → Dig straight down and see what is buried where you come out.

  Who can use itCitizens bury and open secrets. Nobody ever sees who wrote one.

• SquadsYour people, across every time zone.

  Your family lives in four countries: you in Chennai, your brother in Toronto, your sister in London and your uncle in Dubai. On WhatsApp, nobody knows who’s awake. In your squad you see everyone on the globe, who’s awake right now, and the one hour of the day when all four of you can call.

  How it works

  1. Press Squads → Create a squad. Give it a name (“Family”, “Class of 2019”) and a badge.
  2. You get a code and a QR. Send it on WhatsApp. No phone numbers needed.
  3. When people join, their faces appear on the globe where they live.
  4. Inside the squad you can post, react, run a poll, find a call time that suits every time zone, or let the app pick fairly (“Where do we eat at the reunion?”).

  Who can use itCitizens.

• PetsA little creature of your own, out on the planet.

  Before school, you and your son pick a little fox together. That night, his grandparents in New Jersey open Planet-X and spot it hopping across India.

  How it works

  1. Open Play → Choose a pet.
  2. Pick a creature. It roams your country on the globe.
  3. It roams while you’re away. If you’re gone more than three days, it curls up for a nap.

  Who can use itCitizens.

• Planes and bannersPut a message in the sky.

  Your parents’ 40th anniversary is next week. They’re in Madurai; you’re in Germany. You fly a banner across the globe: “Happy 40th, Amma and Appa.” When they tap the plane, it slows down so they can read it.

  How it works

  1. Tap any plane. It slows down and shows its banner.
  2. To fly your own, press Fly your own banner on the plane’s card.
  3. Pick a plane, write your banner and pay. It flies for everyone to see.

  Who can use itWatching: anyone. Flying a banner: paid, for citizens.

• Share this viewShow them exactly what you see.

  You find your hometown on the globe at sunset and want your cousin in Canada to see exactly this. You send one link. It opens on the same spot, at the same zoom.

  How it works

  1. Move the globe to what you want to show.
  2. Open Go → Share this view.
  3. Send the link on WhatsApp or anywhere else. It opens on exactly that view.

  Who can use itAnyone.

• YoursEverything you’ve left on the planet, in one place.

  Your sister in London lost the squad code. You open Yours, open Family and send the invite again.

  How it works

  1. Press Yours.
  2. Open any section: your stories, lights, secrets, squads, pet and citizen card.
  3. See what’s yours, open it, or remove it.

  Who can use itCitizens.