Be Closer vs OpenFamily

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.

OpenFamily is a free, open-source, self-hosted GPS tracker for household location sharing. Its live map shows family members with photo avatars, battery levels, last-seen times, and movement states, with updates through WebSocket. Saved places can trigger arrival and departure alerts. Safety tools include SOS with a ten-second countdown, check-ins with notes, and non-emergency requests for family help. Location history includes map trails, place stays, stops, and in-transit segments; detailed history is retained for 90 days. People join using invite codes and can be assigned admin, member, or child roles. A web admin panel manages accounts and families, creates invites, configures optional SMS, downloads the Android APK, and displays the map. OpenFamily runs as a Docker Compose stack on a VPS, Synology NAS, home server, or LAN machine. It supports Android, iOS, web, API, and self-hosted use. Account and location data are stored in PostgreSQL on the operator's server; default map tile hosts can see the area being viewed.