There’s a feature in many apps that sounds handy: see who’s nearby. And it is handy, right up to the moment you think about what “nearby” means. If an app can tell you someone is 300 feet away, it knows a lot more than you’d probably like it to tell strangers.

When you’re meeting new people, your exact location is the one thing you should be slowest to share. This post explains why, what a better approach looks like, and how to check what your own phone is sharing, whichever apps you use.

Why exact location is different from other personal information

Your name can be common. Your hobbies are fairly public. But your exact location, especially over time, can tell a stranger where you live, where you work, when you’re home and what your routine looks like. It’s the piece that connects the online person to the physical one.

When you’re getting to know someone new, you don’t yet know whether they’re thoughtful, careless or occasionally worse. Most people you meet will be fine. But because you can’t tell in advance, it makes sense to keep the one detail that’s hardest to take back, where you physically are, private until trust is earned.

How “distance” can give you away

Here’s something worth understanding. Even if an app doesn’t show a map pin, it may show how far away a person is. If that distance is very precise, down to a few feet, someone who moves around and checks again can, in principle, work out where you are. It’s the same idea as GPS itself: enough distances from enough points narrows down a position.

We can’t speak to any particular app, and we don’t want to scare anyone. The point is that precision matters. A distance rounded to “about 3 miles” tells a stranger far less than “212 feet.”

What a safer approach looks like

If an app does show who’s nearby, here’s what a privacy-minded design tends to do:

  • Shows an area, not a point. Instead of a pin on a map, a circle that covers a neighborhood or a district.
  • Rounds distances. “Less than 1 mile” or “about 3 miles” instead of exact numbers.
  • Lets you choose how coarse it is. Some people are comfortable with a neighborhood-level area, others prefer a whole city.
  • Never reveals your home or workplace.
  • Lets you switch it off, or block people.

That’s the approach we’re taking with KnownList, the friendship app we’re building for New Jersey and New York. You choose how approximate your location is, as a circle with a radius of roughly 3 miles (city level), about 1 mile (district level) or about half a mile (nearby level). Other people see only an approximate circle and a rounded distance, and never your exact spot. The app is still in development, but we think this should be the default for any app that introduces strangers.

Check what your phone is sharing right now

You don’t have to wait for an app to do the right thing. On an iPhone, you can control a lot yourself:

  1. Open Settings, then Privacy & Security, then Location Services.
  2. Tap any app to see its setting. Options usually include Never, Ask Next Time, While Using the App and sometimes Always.
  3. Look for the Precise Location switch. Turning it off gives the app only an approximate area instead of your exact position.

On Android, similar options exist in your location settings, where you can often choose between precise and approximate location per app. Menus differ by phone, so check yours.

A good habit: give apps location access only while you’re using them, and choose approximate location unless an app genuinely needs precision (like a map or a ride service).

Other places your location leaks

Apps aren’t the only source. A few worth knowing:

  • Photos. Pictures can carry location data. When you share a photo, check the sharing options for a toggle that removes location information.
  • Background details. A photo of your street, a building or a recognizable view can reveal more than a pin.
  • Social posts. Check-ins and tagged locations tell people where you are.
  • Location sharing with friends. Useful for safety, but share only with people you trust, and review the list occasionally.
  • Wi-Fi and gym or work names in screenshots.

Sharing your location on purpose for safety

There’s a time to share your location precisely: with a trusted friend when you’re meeting someone new. Many phones let you share your live location with a contact for a set time. That’s a good safety habit, and it’s very different from showing your location to strangers. Our nine rules for meeting someone from the internet safely include it.

Questions to ask about any app

Before you trust an app that shows nearby people, check:

  • Does it show an exact position, or an approximate area?
  • Are distances rounded?
  • Can I control how precise it is?
  • Can I turn location off and still use the app?
  • Can I block or report someone easily?
  • What does its privacy policy say about storing my location?

If you can’t find answers, assume the least private option.

What about meeting in person?

When you do meet, choose a public place, tell a friend, get yourself there and home, and avoid sharing your address until you really trust the person. Meeting in public is the real-world version of “approximate location”: a place where you’re comfortable and not tied to your home.

The bottom line

Meeting new people is worth it, and “nearby” is a useful idea. But how nearby is shown matters. An approximate area and a rounded distance give you the benefit (you can meet people in your neighborhood) without handing a stranger the key to your front door.

If you’re getting ready to meet someone, our guides to making friends as an adult and what makes friends compatible are good next reads.