Frequently asked questions

Only people you have accepted as friends — friendship on Map My Friends is always mutual. There are no public profiles, no public feed and no way for strangers to browse photos. Blocked people can never see your posts.

No. There is no live or background location tracking. A location is only attached to a post when you choose one at the moment you post: approximate (snapped to the centre of a roughly 1 km square, the default), exact, or none. You can also drop a pin by hand.

No. Phones often hide GPS coordinates inside photo files. We strip all of that hidden information (EXIF, GPS, camera details) from every photo on our server and re-save it as a fresh image before anyone can see it.

Posts disappear after 24 hours by default. You can choose 7 days in your settings if the site owner has switched that option on. When a post expires, the photo files are deleted from our server.

A mobile number lets you sign in without a password: we text you a 6-digit code. Your number is stored encrypted and is never shown to other people. You stay signed in on that device for 90 days of use, so you won’t need a new code each time.

Not at the moment. Only UK mobile numbers (starting 07 or +44 7) can be used. Landlines, premium-rate and international numbers are refused.

Map My Friends shares photos with locations, so we keep it for adults. You must be 18 or over to join, and we ask for your date of birth when you sign up. If someone appears to be under 18, please report them.

A circle (300 m to 2 km) around a place like home or work. Posts made inside a zone are automatically either shown at an approximate point outside the zone, or kept off the map entirely — you choose which.

Ghost mode keeps all your posts off the map. Your friends can still see them in their list view, without any location.

Yes, in the web browser — there’s nothing to install from an app store. You can add it to your home screen for a full-screen app feel. The camera and location need the site to be opened over a secure (https) connection.

Go to Me → Delete my account. Your posts, photos, friends and sessions are deleted straight away. You can download a copy of your data first from Me → Download my data.

Tap the flag on any post or profile, choose a reason and send. You can block the person from the same screen. See our complaints and reporting procedure for what happens next.