Be Closer vs Familo

Be Closer is a family locator app for Android and iOS that places invited circle members on a private live map. Members must accept an invitation before appearing, and they can pause sharing or leave the circle at any time. Places lets users set geofences and receive alerts when members arrive or leave. A one-tap SOS sends a member’s live location to the whole circle, while location history can show where members have been today, this week, or last month. The maker says the app can show a family phone’s last known location even after its battery dies, and that typical daily battery use is under 3%. It describes the app for kids and teens, aging parents, partners, siblings, and roommates. The app is available in 13 languages. The Free plan costs nothing and includes real-time location. Premium costs $3.99 a month; Family costs $6.99 a month. Both paid plans include unlimited location history and Places, and Family covers the whole circle. Final pricing is shown in-app.

Familo is a smartphone app for family and friend groups to share live locations and stay in contact. Members can share their locations continuously, see where others in a group are, and receive alerts when someone arrives at or leaves a predefined place. Group chat works even when location sharing is switched off. A safety alert can send a user's current location to their contacts, and a group can have up to 20 members. Users choose when and with whom to share their location, including modes that limit transmission. The free Basic plan costs nothing. Premium adds unlimited places, a timeline of check-ins and check-outs beyond one day, a panic button, and unlimited live-location lookups. Its price is displayed at purchase, and subscriptions renew automatically each billing period unless canceled. Familo runs on Android and iOS, but is not currently available on computers. The privacy policy says the service complies with GDPR and uses TLS/SSL encryption for data transfers; precise real-time location data is stored for up to two weeks, with only the latest 300 activities per group retained.