Notification

Our software update is being released in phases. New features will gradually roll out across all regions. Stay tuned for updates.

Interact with apps & people around you

You can use your phone to find and interact with people close by. For example, you and your friends can do things like play games or work together in apps that work with Nearby.

Important:

What you need

To interact with other people:

  • You must be within 30 m or 100 ft from them.
  • Both you and the people you’d like to interact with must have the same app. 
  • The app you’d like to collaborate in must work with Nearby.

How Nearby works

When you open an app that works with Nearby, and someone near you has the same app open, your phones will ask if you'd like to connect with each other.

Nearby uses small amounts of Wi-Fi or mobile data to connect to Google and get info about shared apps. 

Nearby doesn’t track, monitor, or send personal info from your phone. When you give permission, apps that work with Nearby share with each other via remote servers. The sharing devices don’t connect directly.

Check which apps work with Nearby

  1. Open your phone’s Settings app.
  2. Tap Privacy And then Privacy dashboard And then See other permissions.
  3. Tap Nearby devices.
  4. To turn off Nearby notifications from an app, tap the app. Then, under "Nearby devices access for this app," tap Don't allow.

Tip: If you turn off an app’s Nearby notifications, the app will still work on your phone.

Troubleshoot: Check settings & connectivity

Bluetooth & Location
  • To get Nearby notifications, you’ll need Bluetooth and Location turned on.
  • If you let an app use Nearby, and Bluetooth or Location are off, your phone will ask you to turn them on.
Check Wi-Fi or mobile connection
  • To get Nearby notifications, make sure your phone is connected to the internet.
  • Learn how to check your Wi-Fi network or mobile network connection.

Tip: To learn how a specific app uses Nearby, contact the app's developer.

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