Map My Friends Open the app

Safety & privacy

How we protect your location and photos

Sharing where you are is personal. Here’s exactly what Map My Friends shares, with whom, and the controls you have.

Who can see your posts

  • Only accepted friends. Friendship is always mutual. There is no public profile, public feed or way to browse strangers’ photos.
  • Blocked people can’t see anything. Blocking works both ways and ends any friendship.
  • Photos are private files. They’re stored outside the public part of our server and are only sent to you after we check you’re allowed to see them. Links to a photo don’t work for anyone else.
  • Our moderator can’t browse your photos. The admin area only shows posts that someone has reported, plus overall numbers.

How your location is used

  • Approximate by default. Friends see the centre of the roughly 1 km square you’re in. We don’t store the exact spot for approximate posts.
  • Only when you post. Your browser asks permission each time; there’s no live tracking and nothing runs in the background.
  • Never from the photo. We remove all hidden data from photos (GPS position, time, camera details) before anyone can see them.
  • Privacy zones. Add up to three circles (300 m to 2 km) around places like home or work. Posts made inside a zone are either shown at a fixed approximate spot outside it, or kept off the map — your choice. Zone centres are stored encrypted.
  • Ghost mode keeps all your posts off the map; friends still see them in their list.
  • Gone tomorrow. Posts and their files are deleted after 24 hours (or 7 days if you choose).

Remember: anything a friend can see, they could screenshot. Only add people you trust, use approximate locations or privacy zones near home, and think twice before posting where you are right now if you’re alone.

If something goes wrong

  • Report any post or person with the flag button — choose a reason and add details if you like. You can block them in the same step. Reports go to a real person; we aim to review them within 48 hours, and reported intimate images are hidden straight away while we check.
  • Block, mute or unfriend from anyone’s profile. They’re not told.
  • Sign out everywhere from Me → Your devices if you think someone else has used your account.

Read our community guidelines and how reports and complaints are handled.

Help from outside Map My Friends

If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999. For non-emergencies, contact the police on 101 (police.uk).