BallonpostReal weather at 1.5 km altitude
We fetch wind direction and speed for the balloon's position from Open-Meteo. At first the wind carries it, and towards the end it steers more and more towards the recipient's home harbour.
Slow messages for a mindful world
Messages that travel with the wind.
Write to someone who matters to you. Your balloon sets off on real wind and lands whenever the weather decides.
- Real weather from Open-Meteo
- Free, nothing to buy
Flight calculator
How long will your balloon fly?
Pick a route and a size. The maths is the same as in the app: distance, size and the limits for flight time.
Sample flight
Lands at the latest after–
Usually arrives after–
Wind influence–
As the crow flies–
Nobody knows the exact moment in advance, not even you. Real wind decides the path; the limits only decide when the balloon has to be there at the latest.
How it works
From the first line to landing.
Ballonpost is slow on purpose. Here is a balloon's journey, step by step.
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ConnectSwap friend codes, set your home harbour.
Personal balloons fly between people who are connected, through a friend code or an invitation. You look up your home harbour once by address. That's where your balloons land, and we store it rounded to about one kilometre.
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WriteA message worth sending.
Up to 2000 characters, with a photo if you like. Every balloon costs helium from your tank, and no more than 7 rise each week. So you think carefully about who you write to.
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DesignShape, colour, pattern and size.
Classic, heart or star, plus a pattern and a short inscription. Size sets the weight: small balloons drift a lot with the wind, large ones are steadier and stand out more in the sky.
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Let goFollow it live, on real wind.
The balloon takes off from your home harbour. Every minute we move it on using current wind data. The map shows its flight path, wind, speed and weight. Tap “Replay flight” to watch the whole journey again.
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LandIt only opens after landing.
The app shows the latest time your balloon will arrive, and it's often there sooner. While it's flying, “Find in the sky” uses your camera to spot it in the real sky. It touches down with a little animation, and only then can the message be opened. Ballonpost emails you at take-off, on approach and on landing.
A quick tour of the app.
Write, design, let go and land: the whole journey in one short video.
The video is in German.
Behind the scenes
3 to 72 h
What happens behind the scenes.
No random number generator: every flight follows the weather over Europe and still arrives safely.
Flight time
The longest possible duration depends on distance and size. The actual landing happens somewhere before that and stays a surprise.
Weight matters
Each size has its own weight. A photo adds 3 g. The heavier the balloon, the less the wind carries it along.
Too early? It circles. If a balloon arrives ahead of time, it circles above its destination until it's allowed to land. On the map, the home harbour pulses while it waits.
Helium
Helium is scarce. On purpose.
Everyone gets the same amount, and money never buys extra balloons on Ballonpost. Bigger balloons need more helium.
7balloons a week, the same for everyone
20helium fits in your tank
Helium per size
Size S1 He
Size M2 He
Size L4 He
Size XL6 He
How helium comes back
+10 Hehelium every Monday
+5 Hehelium when you share a balloon on WhatsApp or social media, up to 3 times a week
Redeem voucher codes in the app under “Redeem voucher”. You never get more than your tank can hold.
Without the app
For people without the app, too.
Your grandma isn't on Ballonpost? Send her a balloon anyway.
Choose a destination
Search for the address or tap the map where the balloon should fly, then enter the person's name.
Send a link or an email
She gets a link with an invitation code, by message or as an email straight from Ballonpost.
Sign up and receive
The link lets her watch the flight live. If she signs up with the email address the invitation went to, the balloon is in her account straight away. With a different address, she redeems it with the code. Either way, you're connected afterwards.
Community
A balloon for anyone: the open sky.
Sometimes a balloon should reach someone you don't know yet. That's possible from 18, and only if both of you have turned on the open sky.
A region or pure chance
Pick a region or leave it to chance. At take-off we randomly choose someone who also has the open sky turned on.
Reviewed before it opens
The balloon sets off straight away. It can only be opened once our team has approved its content.
Very little about you
The recipient only sees your first name and a starting point rounded to 0.1 degrees, which is accurate to about 10 km. The flight path only starts 10 km from where you took off. You only learn the area where it lands.
Free balloon
If nobody is reachable right now, your balloon rises anyway and drifts freely with the wind. After landing, it's found by someone whose home harbour lies within the search radius.
Neighbourhood
Shops in your neighbourhood.
Cafés, bakeries and bookshops near you can send little gifts into the sky. You only see them if you want to.
Airships on the map
A shop floats as an airship above its address, always labelled “Ad” along with its name.
Drifting balloons and finds
Every now and then a voucher balloon drifts past on the wind. Catch it and it goes into your box of finds, ready to redeem at the counter.
Only if you turn it on
Everything stays off until you turn on “Surprises from shops” in your profile. No push ads, no geofencing, and shops never find out who you are.
Privacy
Personal, not public.
Ballonpost isn't a feed or a network for following people. It's about the people you really know.
Contacts first
Personal balloons only fly between people who are connected. You can only reach strangers under the open sky.
Sealed until landing
Only the sender and the recipient see the content, and the recipient only after landing.
An approximate home harbour
We store a location rounded to about one kilometre, never your address.
Report with one tap
If something about a balloon isn't right, report it. Only then does our team see the message.
Emails you can unsubscribe from
Ballonpost writes to you at take-off, on approach and on landing. Every notification has an unsubscribe link.
16 and over
We ask for your year of birth when you set up your profile. The open sky is only available from 18.
Quick start
Ready in two minutes.
You only set up an account once: an email address and a password with at least 8 characters.
iPhone
- Open balloonpost.app/app in Safari.
- Tap Share at the bottom of the screen.
- Scroll down a little and choose Add to Home Screen , then Add.
- Open Ballonpost from the new icon on your home screen and tap Create account.
Why not from the App Store?That's coming. Until then, Ballonpost runs on iPhone as a web app: full screen, with its own icon and no address bar.
Start in your browserAndroid
- Tap Get the Android app and confirm the download.
- Open the downloaded file. Android asks whether your browser may install apps. Allow it once.
- Tap Install, then open Ballonpost.
- Tap Create account and set your home harbour.
Good to knowThe app isn't on the Play Store yet, so Android shows a warning before installing. That's normal for test versions.
Get the Android appComputer
- Open balloonpost.app/app in an up-to-date browser.
- Sign in or create an account. Your account works everywhere: in the browser, on iPhone and in the Android app.
- In Chrome and Edge you can add Ballonpost as an app using the install icon in the address bar.
Everything includedWriting, designing, tracking, sharing and opening balloons works in the browser just as it does in the app.
Start in your browser
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
Ballonpost is in testing. During this phase, data may be reset.
When will my balloon arrive?
At take-off you see the latest time it will land. The real moment is chosen at random before that, usually at 60 to 100 percent of the maximum duration. Nobody knows the exact moment in advance, not even you.
Does Ballonpost cost anything?
No. Everyone gets helium every week and can send up to 7 balloons. You won't be able to buy extra balloons in the future either.
How do I get more helium?
Every Monday you get 10 He. Share a balloon on WhatsApp or social media and you get 5 He, up to 3 times a week. Redeem voucher codes under “Redeem voucher”. You never get more than your tank can hold. If you run out, you wait until Monday.
Why do I need a home harbour?
A balloon needs a destination. Your home harbour is where balloons for you land and where yours take off. You look it up by address and can change it at any time.
Can I see a balloon in the sky?
Yes, with “Find in the sky”. Your camera shows roughly where the balloon is flying. Direction and tilt come from the compass and motion sensors, so what you see is an estimate. Without a camera, we show it against a night sky.
What is a free balloon?
A balloon for anyone, sent when nobody under the open sky could be reached at take-off. It rises anyway, drifts only with the wind and lands wherever the wind takes it. Then it goes to someone whose home harbour lies within the search radius. If nobody turns up for a while, it stays where it landed.
Who can read my messages?
You and the person the balloon is for, and they only after landing. For balloons to anyone, our team reviews the content before it can be opened. Otherwise the team only sees content if someone reports a balloon.
Can shops see who I am?
No. Shops never see your name, your contacts or your home harbour. When you redeem a voucher, they only learn whether it's valid. You only see shop content if “Surprises from shops” is turned on, or if you're a regular at a shop.
Who gets your first balloon?
Create an account, share your friend code, let go.