A system that allows participating users to find other users with similar interests or characteristics based on a map area on a requesting device and the characteristics of each user. The system only reports a counter so as to preserve user anonymity and safety. The system preserves the user anonymity and safety in even granular searches using zoomed-in map views by comparing a map elevation level with a threshold and then a counted number of matched devices against a number of devices threshold. If the map is too zoomed in and there are not enough devices within the zoomed in area, the system does not provide a counter.