HeyPolo vs Life360: consent-first tracking versus always-on features

I tested HeyPolo and Life360 to compare their approaches to location sharing. HeyPolo, a new Surfshark-owned app, pitches itself as a privacy-first, consent-based alternative. It uses invitation codes for groups and lets users add members for free if at least one person in the group has an active subscription.

HeyPolo centers control on the user: visibility can be set from "more precise" (exact location, trip history, arrival alerts) to "more private" (all location services off). Permissions are shown at install—location, background location, motion, push notifications and battery optimization—and the app displays a short data-sharing policy and says it does not sell user data.

The team is also working on safeguards against abusive use and plans features such as driving monitors, status updates and in-app calling. Life360 takes a more traditional, always-on approach. It requires precise, all-the-time location access and other permissions and asks users to disable battery optimization for background tracking to work.

heypolo, life360, surfshark, location sharing, consent-based, privacy-first, invitation codes, background location, battery optimization, trip history