Kiwi app en route to Bill Gates

Photo / Thinkstock

A socialising app designed by Kiwis is on its way to the United States as part of an international competition recognising up and coming developers.

The Estimeet app was designed by a team of computer science students at the University of Auckland.

The app makes meeting with friends easier by letting you know how far away they are, without disclosing their precise location.

This unique aspect utilises location data without compromising privacy.

"We did a survey and found that people don't use location data because of issues of privacy," says one of its creators, Hayden Do.

"That's why we designed Estimeet to protect people's privacy."

Do is part of a four-man team, comprising of Jason Wei, Chris Duan and Derek Zhu, who are competing against 33 other teams in the Microsoft Imagine Cup World Finals.

The teams are vying for one of three US$50,000 grand prizes as well as a kickstart to a career that could reach the heights of apps such as Instagram or Snapchat.

The Imagine Cup has three categories: games, innovation and world citizenship,

Students are asked to create an original technology project from scratch so they can learn how to launch a business and bring an idea to market.

The cup is in its 12th year and runs between July 29 and August 2 at the University of Washington.

The panel of judges who choose the winning projects include Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Reddit general manager Erik Martin.

One of the three winning teams will have the opportunity to meet Microsoft founder Bill Gates.

- AAP