Meeting up without the back-and-forth
"Where are you?" "Near the stage." "Which stage?" Anyone who has tried to find friends at a festival knows how that goes. GoLynQ Meet (formerly GPS Friend Finder) replaces it with a map: open meet.golynq.me, turn on GPS, and the people you're meeting appear as dots that move with them. Tap one to see how far away they are and which way to walk, or let a compass arrow point you to them.
There is no account to create and nothing to install. You send a link, your friends open it in their browser, and they're on the map. If you use it often, you can add it to your home screen, where it opens like an app.
How it works
- Open GoLynQ Meet on your phone or computer and allow location access. You get a random display name, like Otter 42, which you can change.
- Create a private circle for the people you're with (the weekend hike, the family trip) and send its link, or show its QR code for them to scan.
- See each other on the map. Members of a circle see each other's exact position anywhere in the world, and nobody else does.
- Meet up. Drop a meeting point that everyone in the circle sees, chat in the circle, or open walking directions to a friend.
When you're done, turn GPS off: your position disappears from everyone's map right away. If you forget, sharing stops by itself after the time you chose (one hour by default).
What you can do with it
| Feature | What it does |
|---|---|
| Live map | Friends and people nearby, updated as they move, on a street map, satellite imagery or both. |
| Private circles | Invite people by link or QR code. Members see each other anywhere in the world. |
| Distance and direction | How far someone is, a compass arrow that points to them, and walking directions in Apple Maps or Google Maps. |
| Meeting point | A pin everyone in the circle sees, with the distance to it. It disappears after a day. |
| Circle chat | Messages for the circle, deleted after 7 days, and end-to-end encrypted in circles created with the current version. |
| Help signal | One tap shares your exact position with a red SOS alert and a message, and gives you a live location link to send. |
| Notifications | Know when someone nearby or in your circle asks for help, or writes in the chat, even when the app is closed. |
| Stop sharing | Choose when GPS turns itself off: after 30 minutes, 1 hour, 2, 4 or 8 hours, or only when you turn it off. |
| Your own icon | An initial or an emoji and a color, so friends spot you quickly. |
| 8 languages | English, Español, Français, Deutsch, Português, Italiano, 日本語 and 한국어. |
Where people use it
- Festivals and concerts: find your group in a crowd where phone calls don't work well.
- Theme parks, fairs and markets: split up, then regroup in minutes at the meeting point.
- Hiking, skiing and trips outdoors: keep track of everyone across the trail or the slopes.
- Travel and city trips: find each other on the right street corner in a city you don't know.
- Families: see where the kids are at the park or the beach.
- Races and marathons: be at the right spot when your runner passes.
- Events and meetups: guests find the venue, and each other.
When something goes wrong
If you get hurt, lost or feel unsafe, tap the red 🆘 button. Your exact position is shared with a pulsing SOS sign, people in your circle (and nearby, if you choose) get an alert, and you get a live location link to send by text message, WhatsApp or email. Whoever opens it sees you on a map, with your message and the path you've taken, without installing anything. You can add a short message like "twisted ankle by the lake, blue jacket" so helpers know what to expect.
GoLynQ Meet is not an emergency service. The help signal alerts people using the app and the people you send the link to. In an emergency, call your local emergency number first.
Privacy
- No account: no email address, no phone number, and a display name you choose.
- You're visible only while GPS is on. Turning it off removes your position at once.
- Approximate location by default: people outside your circles see only the area you're in, to about 150 m (500 ft). Your circles, and your help signal, use your exact position.
- Positions expire automatically, and a live location link ends when you say you're OK.
- Block or report anyone in two taps.
The details are in the guide's privacy section and on the GoLynQ privacy page.
Works with GoLynQ Help
GoLynQ Help is the GoLynQ personal safety app, for iPhone and the web. A GoLynQ Help user's circle is a GoLynQ Meet circle, so family and friends can join it from GoLynQ Meet in any browser. They see the person on the map when they ask for help or miss a safety check-in, or all the time if that person chose to always share. GoLynQ Help users can also alert GoLynQ Meet users near them, so someone close by can come and help.
Questions
Is it free? Yes. The website shows ads, which pays for the servers and maps.
Do my friends need to install anything? No. They open the link in their browser.
Can strangers see exactly where I am? Not by default. People outside your circles see an approximate position. Your exact position goes only to your circles, and to everyone who can see you while you ask for help.
Does it work on a computer? Yes, in any modern browser, although a computer's position is usually less accurate than a phone's.
Does it drain the battery? GPS and a screen that stays on use power. GoLynQ Meet only sends your position when you've moved, and stops sharing after the time you chose.
Everything else, step by step, is in the GoLynQ Meet user guide.