Making Authentic Friendships vs Navigating Life App
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Making Authentic Friendships
This social network connects individuals with special needs and their families. It provides a safe and supportive space for users to build meaningful connections and find community.
- Connect with special needs individuals
- Connect with loved ones
- Build meaningful connections
- Find community
- Supportive environment
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Social network for special needs individuals and their loved ones.
Navigating Life App
This app provides a private social network and mobile data collection tool for human services organizations. It facilitates communication between staff, families, and team members, while securely tracking progress and digitizing critical information. The platform aims to increase transparency and operational efficiency.
- Private social network for families
- Mobile data collection and progress tracking
- Seamless team and family communication
- Secure and HIPAA-compliant
- Real-time messaging and push notifications
- Secure photo documentation
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Build relationships with families while uniting and empowering staff with the all-in-one communications solution built by and for human services organizations. Navigating Life® is a compliant private social networking and mobile data collection app that tracks progress, increases transparency, and digitizes critical information with real-time communication and secure photo documentation. Leveraging decades of industry experience, our easy-to-use tool is engineered to deliver tangible ROI by enhancing operational efficiency and decision-making accuracy. Key Features: Private Social Network: Enable families to join in the moments that matter with our real-time private social media interface. Mobile Data Collection: Effortlessly track progress and goals with instant logging while digitizing vital data for easy team access. Seamless Communication: Instantly connect with team members, families & staff with integrated messaging and push notifications. Secure & HIPAA Compliant: All data is stored and encrypted in a secure, HIPAA-compliant database maintained by an independent third party. Interested in Navigating Life®? Learn how our all-in-one platform can transform your organization and learn more at https://www.navigatinglifeapp.org.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is review sentiment: Navigating Life App at 100% against Making Authentic Friendships's 34%. Navigating Life App also leads on rating (5.0 vs 2.9) and in-app purchases (none vs 5). Making Authentic Friendships's advantage is ratings volume (68 vs 3). On price, update cadence, ads and device support there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Making Authentic Friendships sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Navigating Life App asks for nothing beyond the download.
Navigating Life App holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Making Authentic Friendships has 68 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 34% of Making Authentic Friendships's written reviews are positive against 100% of Navigating Life App's.
Making Authentic Friendships ships an update every 4 weeks, Navigating Life App every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 23, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Making Authentic Friendships | Navigating Life App |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.9 (68 ratings) | 5.0 (3 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 34.1% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 68 — better | 3 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 weeks | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Ad-supported — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 15.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 56 MB | 49 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Juliana Fetherman | Waypoint Interactive, Inc |
Customer experience
Making Authentic Friendships
Navigating Life App
Bugs and requests
Making Authentic Friendships
Reported bugs
16 issues- App takes a long time to load
- App is slow and buggy
- App freezes after login
- Cannot exit subscription screen
- Charged after canceling free trial
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- App is stuck on subscription page
- Login issues (user/pass not working)
- Cannot upload a picture (custom avatar issue)
- Age displayed incorrectly in profiles
- Friend suggestions not loading
- Cannot select interests/activities
- Keyboard overlays sign-in button
- Buttons are inactive or stuck
- No tech support or contact information available
- App doesn't work or is not active
- Error message about already having an account
Requested features
6 requests- Allow users to set age filters
- Improve friend suggestion intelligence
- Add more descriptors for cognitive abilities/challenges
- Offer a version for younger teens (11-16)
- Expand filters for interests and locations
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- Make the app free or significantly cheaper
Navigating Life App
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Making Authentic Friendships
- 1 Month Member Subscription$4.991 Month
- 1 Year Member Subscription$39.991 Year
- 10 Coins$4.99
- 20 Coins$9.99
- 50 Coins$19.99
Navigating Life App
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Making Authentic Friendships free?
Is Navigating Life App free?
Which has better reviews, Making Authentic Friendships or Navigating Life App?
Do Making Authentic Friendships or Navigating Life App have ads?
Which is updated more often, Making Authentic Friendships or Navigating Life App?
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