What is ViciChat?

ViciChat is a FREE, End-To-End Encrypted (E2EE), GPS bound, communication engine that locally connects people with other people, businesses, offices, institutions, services, etc, within their current physical vicinity, such as a Town, Village, City, School Campus, Company’s Physical Compound space, Event’s Arena, Hotel’s Compound, etc, without the need to have or know anyone’s phone number (as in the case of Whatsapp) or be on anyone’s friend list (as in the case of Facebook Messenger) or have anyone’s email.

ViciChat is notably part of the Vicilook Ecosystem and functions as its Peer-2-Peer communications and public messaging engine.

ViciChat does not require your PHONE NUMBER or EMAIL when creating your account, to use it, because it believes in the principle of Matter and Space. So anywhere you currently stand, sit or lie on, is enough means of verification and authentication via your current GPS location.

 

ViciChat is built around a powerful principle, which is that:

 

“Your physical community and its physical boundaries can have its own real digital version.”

 

Rather than functioning solely as another general-purpose messaging platform, ViciChat connects digital communication with real-world places and communities. This enables people to discover what is happening around them, communicate with nearby people and organizations in same geolocation such as Town or Village or City, participate in their community’s discussions via the Town Square feature , follow People, Businesses and Institutions that matter to them and receive instant updates.

At the center of this experience is ViciChat Town Square — a live digital gathering place for sharing and posting public or private updates within a recognizable community.

Examples include:

Nsukka Town Square

UNN Town Square

Lagos Town Square

Port Harcourt Town Square

Etc

and Town Squares representing other towns, cities, campuses, villages, estates, markets and communities.

Town Square therefore transforms a physical community into a continuously active digital space where people can discover, communicate, follow, contribute and stay informed.

 

What You Can Do With ViciChat

Instant Direct Messaging & Notifications

ViciChat enables users to communicate directly with other users and receive timely notifications when new messages arrive.

A conversation can move from discovery to private communication without requiring users to exchange personal contact information publicly.

 

Real-world scenario:

A customer discovers a nearby service provider through the local community and uses Chat Me to begin a private conversation.

 

ViciChat End-to-End Encryption

ViciChat uses end-to-end encryption to protect private conversations between users.

With end-to-end encryption, messages are encrypted so that the conversation is protected while being transmitted between the communicating parties. The encryption is designed to ensure that the contents of private conversations remain accessible only to the intended participants.

This provides an additional layer of privacy for ViciChat users when communicating through private chat.

 

Hyper-Local Discovery

ViciChat is designed around geographic relevance, allowing users to discover people, businesses, offices, institutions, services and community activity associated with their current vicinity.

Real-world scenario:

Someone arriving in Nsukka can discover relevant local businesses, services, people and community activity instead of being presented primarily with unrelated information from distant locations.

 

ViciChat Utility Pills

ViciChat Phase 5 introduces a collection of Utility Pills directly inside the private chat experience. These quick-action tools allow users to send frequently needed information, links and location details without manually typing or copying them each time.

The Utility Pills are designed to make private conversations faster, more practical and more useful, particularly when users need to exchange contact details, locations, business information or reusable content.

1. Send Phone Number

The Send Phone Number pill allows users to quickly send their pre-saved phone number to the person they are chatting with.

Instead of typing the number manually, the user simply taps the pill and ViciChat sends the saved phone number into the conversation.

Real-world example:

A customer is chatting with a service provider and asks for a phone number for a direct call. The service provider taps Send Phone Number and immediately sends the saved number.

 

2. Send My Location

The Send My Location pill allows users to quickly share their current geographical location with the person they are privately chatting with.

ViciChat obtains the user’s current location and sends a map link that the recipient can open to see the location.

Real-world example:

A customer is meeting a delivery rider but is unsure of the exact address. The customer taps Send My Location, allowing the rider to open the shared map location and navigate directly to them.

 

3. Track Me

The Track Me pill provides an ongoing location-sharing capability rather than simply sending one location snapshot.

While Send My Location communicates where the user is at a particular moment, Track Me is designed for situations where the user’s movement needs to be followed over a period of time.

Real-world example:

Someone travelling to meet a friend in another part of town can activate Track Me so the friend can follow their movement instead of repeatedly asking for their current location or A delivery Guy having to share his current location every 10 seconds by simply tapping the ‘Track Me‘ pill as he brings your purchased item to your house.

 

4. Send Bank Details

The Send Bank Details pill allows users to quickly send their pre-saved banking or payment information through a private conversation.

This eliminates the need to repeatedly type or copy banking information whenever another person requests it.

Real-world example:

A customer completes an order with a business and asks where to make payment. The business owner taps Send Bank Details and immediately sends the saved payment information through the private chat.

 

5. Send Price List

The Send Price List pill allows users to send their pre-saved price list directly into a private conversation.

This is particularly useful for businesses, vendors, service providers and professionals who regularly receive questions about their prices.

Real-world example:

A customer contacts a photographer and asks for available packages and prices. The photographer taps Send Price List and instantly provides the saved pricing information.

 

6. Send Form

The Send Form pill allows users to quickly send a pre-configured form or questionnaire through private chat.

It is useful when a person or organization needs to collect structured information from another user.

Real-world example:

A clinic needs a new client to provide basic information before an appointment. The clinic can use Send Form to quickly provide the appropriate questionnaire through the private conversation.

 

7. Send Vicilook Page Link

The Send Vicilook Page Link pill allows users to instantly share their saved Vicilook page with the person they are chatting with.

Rather than manually copying and pasting the page address, the user can simply tap the pill.

Real-world example:

A professional is chatting with a potential client who wants to learn more about their work. The professional taps Send Vicilook Page Link and immediately shares their Vicilook page.

 

8. Send My Product Link

The Send My Product Link pill allows users to quickly share their saved product or product-related page with someone in a private conversation.

This provides a convenient way for sellers and businesses to move from conversation to product discovery.

Real-world example:

A customer asks a seller about a particular product. The seller taps Send My Product Link and immediately sends the customer the relevant product page.

 

The Purpose of ViciChat Utility Pills

Together, these Utility Pills turn the private chat interface into more than a conventional messaging window.

They provide quick access to information that users frequently need to communicate:

Contact information

Location

Live location tracking

Payment information

Pricing

Forms and questionnaires

Personal pages

Products

The overall experience can be summarized as:

Chat → Tap a Utility Pill → Select or retrieve the relevant information → Send instantly

This reduces repetitive typing, makes conversations more efficient and gives businesses, professionals, service providers and ordinary users convenient tools for handling common real-world communication needs directly within ViciChat private chat.

 

ViciChat Town Square

A Digital Town Square for Every Community

Town Square is the community-centered social and communication layer of ViciChat.

Each recognized community can have its own dedicated TownSquare, such as:

Nsukka Town Square

UNN Town Square

Lagos Town Square

Port Harcourt Town Square

Etc

The concept can also apply to:

villages

residential estates

university campuses

markets

business districts

neighborhoods

event communities

other geographically defined communities

TownSquare gives each community a recognizable digital gathering place.

 

Live TownSquare Stream

TownSquare provides a live communal stream where users can see and participate in current activity within their community.

People can post updates, announcements, questions, observations and other community-related information.

Real-world scenario:

Residents can use Nsukka Town Square to discuss traffic, electricity, road conditions, events, local businesses, community activities and other developments happening around them.

 

PUBLIC TownSquare Posts

One of the most important TownSquare features is the ability to choose PUBLIC visibility when posting.

A PUBLIC post is intended for the wider Town Square community and becomes part of the communal stream available to eligible users within that Square.

Examples:

“The road at the main junction is currently blocked.”

“Community sanitation starts at 7 AM tomorrow.”

“Electricity has been restored.”

“There is heavy traffic around the market.”

PUBLIC posting therefore provides a simple way to broadcast useful information to the wider community.

FOLLOWERS ONLY TownSquare Posts

TownSquare also gives users another level of communication:

FOLLOWERS ONLY.

Instead of making a post available to the entire TownSquare audience, a user can publish an update specifically for people who follow them.

A FOLLOWERS ONLY post is available to:

the person who created it, and

that person’s followers.

People who do not follow the author do not receive the post as part of their followers-only stream.

This creates an important distinction between community-wide communication and communication with an author’s chosen audience.

Real-world scenario:

A local business owner could publish publicly:

“We are open today.”

But publish to followers only:

“Our new shipment has arrived. Followers can see the new products first.”

A community personality, organization, service provider or local creator can similarly maintain a closer communication channel with people who have deliberately chosen to follow them.

 

MY POSTS — Your Personal TownSquare Activity

Town Square also provides a personal perspective on the user’s own contributions.

The MY POSTS concept allows a user to access their own TownSquare contributions rather than having to search through the entire community stream.

This gives users a convenient personal record of what they have published within the Square.

Real-world scenario:

A user who has made several announcements, recommendations or community updates can return to their personal TownSquare area and quickly find their own posts.

This is especially useful for:

business owners

community organizers

service providers

local reporters

event organizers

community leaders

active residents

 

FOLLOWING UPDATES

TownSquare also has a dedicated Following Updates experience.

Instead of viewing every community update, users can access activity associated with the people, interests or topics they have chosen to follow.

This creates a more personalized information stream.

Real-world scenario:

A user may be interested in electricity updates, a particular local business, a community organizer and a local event.

Rather than monitoring the entire TownSquare continuously, the user can use Following Updates to concentrate on activity connected to those interests.

 

Follow & Unfollow

Users can follow relevant people, topics or community interests directly through the TownSquare experience.

Following creates a continuing relationship between the user and the updates they have chosen to receive.

Users can also unfollow when they no longer want those updates.

This transforms TownSquare from a simple public message board into a personalized community information network.

Town Square Unread Activity Badge

Town Square keeps track of activity that a user has not yet seen.

A visual badge can indicate that new TownSquare activity is waiting.

The system uses visit-state information to distinguish previously viewed activity from new activity.

Real-world scenario:

A user visits Nsukka Town Square in the morning and leaves.

Several new posts appear later.

When the user returns, the TownSquare badge can indicate that new activity has occurred since the previous visit.

 

Following Updates Badge

Following activity has its own unread tracking mechanism.

This means TownSquare can distinguish between:

New activity in the TownSquare

and

New activity associated with things the user follows.

This is particularly useful when a community becomes very active and users need a way to separate general activity from their personalized interests.

 

Live Synchronization

TownSquare is designed as a live environment rather than a static page.

Its synchronization mechanisms allow active users to receive updated community activity without constantly manually refreshing the page.

Real-world scenario:

During a community event, several people can post updates while others are watching the Square. New activity can appear as the event develops.

This makes TownSquare suitable for:

community events

local announcements

traffic information

electricity updates

water-service updates

road conditions

local business updates

community alerts

Community Alerts & Local Information

Town Square can serve as a real-time local information channel.

A community member can quickly communicate something relevant to others in the same community.

Examples include:

Electricity

“Power has been restored.”

Traffic

“Heavy traffic at the main junction.”

Roads

“Construction has blocked this route.”

Water

“Water supply is currently unavailable.”

Events

“The community meeting begins at 5 PM.”

Weather

“Flooding has been reported around the low-lying road.”

Town Square therefore provides a place where information can originate directly from the people experiencing it.

 

Public-to-Private Communication

One of Town Square’s most useful characteristics is the ability to move naturally from public community discovery to private communication.

The flow can be:

Discover → Read → Follow → Receive Updates → Chat Privately

For example:

A technician posts publicly:

“I repair generators around Nsukka.”

Someone interested in the service discovers the post.

They can follow the technician if they want future updates.

They can then use Chat Me to begin a private conversation.

This creates a direct bridge between community visibility and personal communication.

‘Chat Me’ Private Button Integration

TownSquare activity can connect directly with ViciChat’s private communication functionality.

This means users do not necessarily have to publish personal contact information in a public TownSquare post simply to begin a conversation.

Real-world applications include:

customers contacting businesses

residents contacting service providers

students contacting tutors

clients contacting professionals

people contacting event organizers

buyers contacting sellers

Town Square becomes the discovery layer, while ViciChat private chat becomes the conversation layer.

 

Community Businesses & Organizations

Businesses, offices and institutions can benefit from being part of a geographically relevant communication environment.

They can potentially use the ecosystem to:

become discoverable

communicate with nearby users

publish updates

interact with customers

answer inquiries

build a following

communicate privately through ViciChat

Real-world scenario:

A restaurant in Nsukka can be discovered by people in the relevant community, publish updates and communicate directly with interested customers.

 

Local Community Building

TownSquare creates a digital gathering point for people who share a physical environment.

A residential community can use its Square for:

sanitation announcements

security information

meetings

maintenance notices

water updates

community events

lost-and-found information

A university can use its Square for:

campus announcements

student activities

events

transportation information

facility updates

A market can use its Square for:

trader announcements

business updates

market information

events

customer communication

 

Historical TownSquare Activity

Town Square activity is not limited to only the newest post.

Users can access previous community activity through the history mechanism, with additional content loaded progressively.

This allows a Town Square to develop into a lightweight community information archive.

Real-world scenario:

A person joining a community discussion later can review earlier updates concerning an ongoing road project, community event or local issue.

 

Load More

Older TownSquare activity can be loaded progressively rather than forcing the entire historical feed to load at once.

This keeps the interface practical even for highly active communities with large quantities of historical activity.

 

Personal Identity Across ViciChat

Town Square is connected to the user’s ViciChat identity.

This allows the same identity to participate across the broader ViciChat communication environment rather than requiring a completely separate identity for community activity.

The experience can therefore flow naturally between:

TownSquare → Following → Chat Me → Private Chat

 

Message Formatting & Interactive Content

Town Square incorporates message-processing functionality to improve how community posts are presented.

This includes mechanisms for:

message formatting

phone-number presentation/masking

ViciLink recognition

interactive content handling

This helps keep the community feed readable while connecting relevant content with the wider Vici ecosystem.

 

Live Activity & Radar Effect

Town Square includes visual activity effects that reinforce its live-community character.

The radar-style activity pulse communicates that activity is occurring within the Square.

Rather than feeling like a static forum, the interface is designed to give users the impression of a living digital community.

 

Audio Feedback

Relevant TownSquare interactions can also use audio feedback.

This provides another layer of immediate interaction, particularly when users are actively participating in a live Square.

 

Mobile-Friendly Community Experience

TownSquare is designed to work naturally within mobile environments, including mobile web and application-based experiences.

This is particularly important because hyperlocal communication frequently happens while people are:

walking, commuting, shopping, attending events, working, visiting a new location, participating in community activities.

A person can therefore carry their local digital community with them.

 

ViciChat Push Notifications

ViciChat integrates push-notification infrastructure so that relevant communication can reach users beyond the currently open interface.

This is important for both direct conversations and community-related activity.

Real-world scenario:

A user closes the application after following a local business or community activity. When a relevant notification is generated, the registered device can receive the notification.

 

Firebase Notification Infrastructure

The notification architecture incorporates Firebase Cloud Messaging and registered device tokens.

The system also accommodates changing Firebase registrations and can remove invalid registrations reported by Firebase.

This is particularly important for mobile applications where users may:

reinstall the application

change devices

receive refreshed Firebase tokens

log into their account on another device

The notification infrastructure therefore supports the continuing relationship between a ViciChat account and its active devices.

 

GPS-Bound Location Intelligence

ViciChat’s geographic architecture connects users and content with physical communities.

Location information helps determine the relevant vicinity and the local content that should be available to the user.

Real-world scenario:

When a person enters a different community, the relevant local environment can change accordingly, allowing ViciChat to function as a geographically aware communication platform.

What Communities and Businesses Can Do With ViciChat

Bridge the Local Gap

ViciChat creates a digital connection between people and the businesses, organizations and services operating around them.

A person does not necessarily need to already know the name or contact details of a local service provider before discovering them through the ecosystem.

Drive Immediate Interaction

Discovery can lead directly to communication.

A user can discover a local business, organization, service provider or person and transition into a direct ViciChat conversation.

Build Community Relationships

TownSquare allows residents, organizations, businesses and institutions to participate within a shared community environment.

The result is a communication model where local information can flow between the different participants of a physical community.

Comprehensive Feature Architecture

Behind the user-facing experience, ViciChat combines several systems.

Core Communication Engine

Manages messaging, identity, interaction and communication workflows.

Geographic Intelligence

Connects users and community content with relevant physical locations and vicinities.

Town Square Engine

Manages community Squares, live feeds, posting, visibility, following, unread activity and Square navigation.

Visibility System

Allows TownSquare content to be differentiated between:

PUBLIC

and

FOLLOWERS ONLY

while also allowing users to access their own activity through the personal-post perspective.

Following System

Maintains the user’s followed relationships and provides the corresponding Following Updates experience.

Notification Network

Connects relevant activity with device notification infrastructure through Firebase Cloud Messaging.

Live Synchronization

Keeps active TownSquare sessions synchronized with new community activity.

Interface Controllers

Manage the interactive TownSquare experience, navigation, animations, badges, posting interface, feed rendering and other frontend interactions.

What Makes ViciChat Different?

Traditional messaging platforms are primarily organized around people you already know.

Traditional social networks are often organized around global feeds, followers and algorithmic content.

ViciChat introduces another organizing principle:

“Physical community.”

Town Square adds another powerful dimension:

“What is happening in the community I am connected to right now?”

This creates a communication ecosystem where physical communities can have persistent digital spaces.

The result is a combination of:

Local Discovery

Community Conversation

Public Communication

Followers-Only Communication

Personal Post History

Following Updates

Private Messaging

Real-Time Notifications

Geographic Relevance

A Complete TownSquare Communication Model

The TownSquare experience can be understood through four complementary perspectives:

PUBLIC

“Tell the community.”

Share an update with the wider TownSquare audience.

FOLLOWERS ONLY

“Tell the people who follow me.”

Share an update with your followers without making it part of the general audience’s followers-only stream.

MY UPDATES

“Show me what I have posted.”

Access your own TownSquare contributions.

FOLLOWING UPDATES

“Show me what matters to me.”

Access updates associated with people, topics or interests you follow.

Together, these create a much more flexible communication environment than a single undifferentiated community feed.

Real-World TownSquare Examples

Nsukka Town Square

Residents can discuss:

electricity

traffic

roads

businesses

community events

local services

announcements

A resident can publish publicly, follow relevant people or topics, receive updates and privately contact a service provider.

UNN Town Square

Students and members of the university community can interact around:

campus activities

events

transportation

facilities

student-related information

community announcements

Lagos Town Square

A large urban community can use its Square to facilitate localized conversations and information around businesses, services, events and neighborhood activity.

Residential Estate Town Square

Residents can communicate around:

security

sanitation

maintenance

water

meetings

community activities

Market Town Square

Traders and customers can interact around:

available products

business updates

market activity

announcements

events

direct customer communication

 

 

How to Use ViciChat

1. Open ViciChat while within or associated with the relevant physical community.
2. Allow the required location access so the platform can determine the relevant vicinity.
3. Enter the appropriate TownSquare, such as Nsukka Town Square, UNN Town Square or another available community Square.
4. Browse the live community feed.
5. Post publicly when an update is intended for the wider TownSquare community.
6. Choose FOLLOWERS ONLY when an update is intended specifically for people who follow you.
7. Follow people or interests whose updates you want to continue receiving.
8. Check Following Updates for activity connected to what you follow.
9. Use MY POSTS to access your own TownSquare contributions.
10. Use Chat Me when a public discovery needs to become a private conversation.
11. Receive notifications when relevant communication or activity arrives.

 

 

The Bigger Vision

ViciChat is designed around the idea that physical communities should not be disconnected from the digital world.

Every town, city, campus, neighborhood, estate, market or community can potentially have a recognizable digital gathering place where people can:

Discover what exists around them.

Communicate with people and organizations nearby.

Participate in their community.

Publish public updates.

Share Privately with their followers.

Follow people and interests that matter to them.

Track their own TownSquare contributions.

Receive live updates and notifications.

Connect Privately through ViciChat after discovering something publicly.

This makes TownSquare more than a social feed.

It is a digital community layer attached to the physical world.

ViciChat in One Sentence

ViciChat connects people, places, businesses, institutions and communities through geographically relevant and End-To-End Encryption (E2EE) communication, while its Town Square feature transforms recognizable physical communities into live digital gathering places where people can publicly participate, privately share with followers, follow what matters to them, access their own contributions, receive real-time updates and move naturally from community discovery into private conversation.

Start Connecting With Your Community

Experience ViciChat and discover the digital communication environment built around your community.

Click HERE to start connecting with all in your community via ViciChat.