Let’s get you moving again.

An Android phone (Android 12 or later) with Bluetooth, an internet connection for setup, and an email address you can verify. You must be at least 13. Ages 13–17 complete setup with a parent or legal guardian. Then pair with one person you trust — you both need to be there, on the same screen, for a minute. After that, finding each other nearby works without internet.

A few minutes, once. Follow the single highlighted button on each step; there is never more than one thing to do at a time. If a step asks for a permission, it explains what that permission is for before Android asks.

No. Only the person doing the finding needs Plus, and only for the Plus features. The person being found can use the free Standard plan forever. Standard also includes Bluetooth finding in both directions, and the Wear OS watch app is free.

Yes, for the part that matters most. Once you have paired, nearby finding over Bluetooth works with no internet at all — no signal, no Wi-Fi, aeroplane mode with Bluetooth on. Setting up a new person, finding someone far away, maps, purchases, and updates all need a connection.

An update is required when something changes in security, accounts, or the terms you accepted. Install the current version from Google Play and reopen the app.

One arrow, one distance, and one sentence telling you what to do next. The app picks the best source available and switches between them on its own — you never choose a technology. The small lights underneath show which one is working right now.

Because it is being honest. When the app has a general direction but not a precise one, it says “roughly” and draws a wide band around the arrow to show how sure it is. As you walk a few steps or turn slowly on the spot, the band narrows and the word disappears. An arrow with a wide band is still worth following.

No. It improves as it learns. The first direction after connecting is a best guess; walking a short distance, or turning slowly once with the phone held in front of you, gives it real evidence and it corrects itself. It will never sit frozen — if it stops moving as you turn, your compass needs waking with a figure-eight motion.

It depends which source is in use. Ultra-wideband, on phones that have it, is accurate to about a step. Wi-Fi distance, a Plus feature on supported Android 13+ phones, can show a measured distance when Bluetooth is disconnected. Bluetooth gives an estimated range, shown as a band rather than a false precision. A shared location has its own accuracy, shown next to it. Walls, crowds, metal, and how you hold the phone all affect radio.

Close enough to see each other, in ordinary conditions. The last few steps are yours — the app points and measures, it does not identify a face in a crowd. It is not an emergency or law-enforcement service.

Yes. Group Find works with one to three trusted people you explicitly select, and it is a Plus feature. Each person keeps a separate consent decision, session, status, and Stop control. Selecting a group never requests everyone automatically — you choose who is included, every time.

Yes, once your phones are connected nearby. During a Find you can send a short message to the person you are finding — useful for “I’m by the main gate” when calling is hopeless in a crowd. This is included with Standard; with Plus, the Messages screen also keeps the conversation. Messages stay between the two phones and the people you chose.

Yes, if you have a Wear OS watch paired to your phone. The watch app is a separate, free download and works with Standard and Plus. During a Find, the arrow and distance appear on the watch, so you can keep your phone in your pocket. The phone does the finding; the watch mirrors it.

Two phones have to hear each other over Bluetooth first, which can take several seconds in a crowded place. Keep both phones awake for the first moments, keep Bluetooth on, and avoid burying the phone in a bag. The app keeps looking the whole time and tells you what stage it has reached.

Once removal succeeds, your phone removes the saved connection and rejects that person's Find and location-sharing requests, even if their offline phone has not received the removal yet. An old connection still showing on their phone does not preserve access. The removal is sent directly when connected nearby, or queued for delivery. Reconnecting requires a new pairing from scratch. Removal cannot erase a location or screenshot already saved by the other person.

No. You decide who may find you when you set up the connection, and you can see it and switch it off at any time. Your account keeps a history of Find requests and what came of them, so you can check. Your location is shared only during a Find, and only with people you have allowed.

Block them, and report them if you want us to look. Blocking takes effect on your phone immediately and stops their requests and messages. Reporting sends us what is needed to review the account. You never have to stay connected to anyone.

No. A Find is a single, time-limited session. It runs for up to 15 minutes and allows up to six location updates: one straight away, then about one every two and a half minutes. If the phones connect nearby before that, the remaining updates stop automatically.

No. Standard is the ordinary independent account. Family Access appears only when an adult adds a family member, or when an ages 13–17 account needs a parent or legal guardian to finish setup.

No. A family link, a trusted connection, a group, or a payment does not by itself grant location. The teen still chooses whether to share, and anyone else a teen shares with needs the guardian’s approval first.

A guardian accepts the terms for the teen’s account, approves each person the teen may share location with, can sponsor Plus from their own account, and can end Family Access at any time. Ending Family Access does not cancel a Google Play subscription — that is a separate action in Google Play.

Ages 13–17 accounts cannot buy or restore Plus directly. A current guardian may sponsor eligible Plus access from the guardian’s own account.

No. Partner Finder does not sell personal information and does not use location for advertising. There is no advertising in the app. The Privacy Policy describes the limited handling needed to run the features you ask for.

Online setup, maps, location requests, notifications, updates, and purchases can use mobile data. Nearby Bluetooth finding uses none. Your carrier controls any data, roaming, or overage charges; Partner Finder does not include network service.

Subscriptions are cancelled in Google Play, not in the app. Event passes do not renew, so there is nothing to cancel. Cancelling stops future charges; it does not delete your account.

Use the account controls in the app, or the verified request process on the web. Deleting your account and cancelling a subscription are two different actions.