Hiipal Documentation

Hiipal is an AI-powered social search and connection platform. Use it to search across text, images, and documents using semantic AI — and instantly connect with other people searching the same topic right now.

What you can do on Hiipal

Getting started

1. Open hiipal.com in any modern browser — no account required.
2. Type a topic, upload an image, or share a document in the search bar.
3. Hiipal surfaces relevant results and shows you other people searching the same thing.
4. Click a pal to start chatting, or tap the mic or camera icon to call.
5. Want to play? Hit Play Now on the home screen to jump into Draw & Guess.

Want the full screen-by-screen version, including how the AI actually decides what matches? Read the complete walkthrough on the blog.

Who is Hiipal for?

Hiipal is built for anyone who wants to learn, connect, or collaborate around a shared interest — a student looking for a study partner, a researcher exploring a new field, a professional seeking industry connections, or simply someone who wants to meet people with similar hobbies.

• Students — find study partners and discuss topics in real time.
• Researchers — search across images and documents, discover collaborators.
• Professionals — network with people working on the same problems.
• Curious people — explore topics and meet others who share your interests.
• Communities — build micro-communities around niche topics organically.

What makes Hiipal different?

Most platforms separate search from social — you search on Google, then find people on LinkedIn or Reddit. Hiipal collapses that gap: the search itself is the social signal. The moment you look something up, you are discoverable to others looking up the same thing, using AI that understands context and meaning rather than just keyword matches.

Our mission

We believe the best discoveries happen when knowledge and people meet at the right moment. Hiipal's mission is to make that meeting instant, intelligent, and human — search should not be a solitary activity, it should be the start of a conversation.

Radical transparency

We show Hiipal's real profit and loss figures directly inside the app — no polished numbers, no selective reporting. If Hiipal is doing well, you will know. If it is running at a loss, you will know that too.

AI Search

Hiipal uses multimodal vector embeddings to understand the meaning behind your query — not just match keywords. This means you can search naturally, upload a photo to find similar content, or paste a document and find related topics.

Search modes

Text search

Type any phrase. The AI finds semantically related results even if the exact words do not match.

Image search

Upload or paste an image. Hiipal generates a caption and searches for related content and people.

Document search

Share a PDF or text document. The AI extracts key topics and finds matching content in the knowledge base.

Search tips

• Use descriptive phrases rather than single words for better semantic matches.
• Images work best when they contain a clear subject — a product, landmark, or concept.
• The live dashboard shows who else is searching similar topics in real time.

Draw & Guess

Draw & Guess is a live multiplayer game built directly into Hiipal. One player draws a word while everyone else tries to guess it in the chat. Points are awarded based on how quickly you guess correctly.

How a game works

1. Tap Play Now from the home screen — you auto-join a public room.
2. The game starts automatically once two or more players are in the room.
3. Each turn, the drawer picks one of three words and draws it on the canvas.
4. Guessers type in the chat. Correct guesses earn points — faster guesses earn more.
5. After all rounds, a final leaderboard shows rankings and per-round score changes.

Drawing tools

Pen

Free-hand drawing. Choose from 20 colours and 4 brush sizes.

Eraser

Remove parts of your drawing. Works at the same brush sizes.

Fill bucket

Flood-fill an area with the selected colour.

Undo / Redo

Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y, or the toolbar buttons. Synced to all players in real time.

Clear

Wipe the entire canvas. Broadcast to all players instantly.

Scoring

• First correct guess: up to 300 points (decreases as time passes).
• Drawer earns +30 points for each player who guesses correctly.
• Zero points if nobody guesses within the time limit.
• Hint letters are revealed every 20 seconds to help guessers.

Moderation

• Votekick — 5 votes from different players removes a player from the room.
• Mute — hides a player's chat messages for you only (local, not broadcast).
• Report — flags a player for review. One report per player per session.
• Like / Dislike — rate the current drawing during someone's turn.

Keyboard shortcuts

Hiipal Draw & Guess vs skribbl.io

Hiipal's Draw & Guess is built from the ground up for a modern, mobile-first web experience. Here is how it compares to skribbl.io:

The biggest difference is mobile responsiveness. On skribbl.io, drawing on a phone is awkward — the canvas does not adapt to touch screens well and the layout often overflows on small devices. Hiipal's canvas uses the Pointer Events API, which treats mouse, touch, and stylus input identically. Every toolbar button, the guess chat, and the scoreboard reflow into a compact mobile layout that fits comfortably on any screen size.

Another key difference is undo/redo synchronisation. In Hiipal, when the drawer presses Ctrl+Z, the full stroke history is broadcast to every player instantly — so everyone sees exactly the same canvas state at all times. This is not available in skribbl.io.

Real-Time Chat

When you search a topic, Hiipal shows you nearby pals — other people searching the same or similar topics at the same moment. You can open a direct chat with any of them.

Chat features

Text messages

Send and receive messages instantly over WebSocket. No page refresh needed.

Image sharing

Upload an image directly in the chat window. Images are stored securely and shared inline.

Voice messages

Hold the mic button to record a short voice clip and send it in the conversation.

TTS (text-to-speech)

Enable TTS to have incoming messages read aloud — useful for hands-free use.

Privacy

Chats are peer-to-peer where possible. Your messages are not stored beyond the active session. You can end a conversation at any time by leaving the chat window. See our Privacy Policy for full details.

Voice & Video Calls

Hiipal supports peer-to-peer WebRTC calls directly in the browser. No app download, no account, no plugin required.

Starting a call

1. Open a chat with a nearby pal.
2. Click the phone icon for a voice call, or the video icon for video.
3. Your browser will ask for microphone or camera permission — allow it.
4. The other person receives a call notification and can accept or decline.

Requirements

• A modern browser: Chrome 100+, Firefox 110+, Safari 15.4+, or Edge 100+.
• Microphone access for voice calls; camera access for video calls.
• Both participants must be online and in an active Hiipal session.

Safety

Hiipal is designed for safe, respectful interaction. We take platform abuse seriously.

Community rules

• No harassment, hate speech, or threatening behaviour.
• No sharing of explicit, illegal, or harmful content.
• No spamming or repetitive unsolicited messages.
• No impersonating other users or Hiipal staff.

Reporting

In Draw & Guess, click any player's name card to open a popup where you can Report, Mute, or Votekick them. In chat, use the report button next to any message. All reports are reviewed.

For detailed guidelines, see our Community Guidelines and Safety page.

Frequently Asked Questions