# sparrow — friends nearby — Friends. Cities. Trips.

> Friends. Cities. Trips. (iPhone/iPad app by Stijn Van Haute.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/sparrow-friends-nearby/id6765623105 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Stijn Van Haute](https://appshunter.io/developer/1896013724)
- Category: Travel, Social Networking
- Price: Free
- Age rating: 17+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 12 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2026-05-07
- Data updated: 2026-10-25

## What is sparrow?

sparrow keeps you in touch with the friends who actually matter.

Most apps make it harder to stay close. Endless feeds, strangers' takes, ads, notifications about people you barely know. sparrow does the opposite. You add the friends you care about into private groups, and the app shows you where they are, where they're going, and when your paths cross.

Open the home screen and you see the cities your friends are in right now, dropped on a clean map. Add your upcoming trips and so do they. When two trips overlap — same city, same week — sparrow tells you. That's it. No feed, no posts, no ads.

What you can do
• See your friends' cities on a map (city-level only — never live location).
• Plan trips and let your group know where you'll be.
• Create events for your group — a dinner, drinks, a weekend away.
• RSVP and see who else is in.
• Get a quiet notification when a friend lands in your city.

Privacy isn't a marketing line
• No tracking. No analytics. No third-party SDKs that watch you.
• No advertising. Ever.
• City-level only. The app reads your phone's location only while you have it open and have given permission, and saves only the city — not coordinates.
• Only your group-mates see your data. Strangers can't see anything.

Built for small circles — friends, families, the group of people you'd actually want to grab dinner with.

## Is sparrow safe?

Not enough ratings yet to assess sparrow.

## Is sparrow legit?

sparrow — friends nearby has limited verification signals. The AppsHunter Legitimacy Score for sparrow is 48 out of 100 points across 7 verification signals from App Store and developer data.


## Version history (last 3 releases)

### 1.3 — 2026-07-02

• Sign in with Google or Apple — now native, fast, and reliable
• Auto-update your city as you travel — opt-in, and city-level only (your exact location never leaves your phone)
• Find friends within ~25 km, not just your exact city
• A dedicated Notifications screen
• Snappier lists and instant Join & RSVP

### 1.2 — 2026-05-19

What's new in 1.2:

- Direct friendships: connect 1:1 without a group invite. Share a personal sparrow link, they tap to connect.
- Friends tab: everyone in your circle in one place, with search, sort by city, and a direct-only filter.
- Add to group, faster: pull people you already know into your groups in two taps, no link to copy.
- Cleaner splash, sharper invite previews, smoother back navigation across detail pages.

Plus a long list of small fixes across the app.

### 1.0 — 2026-05-07

No release notes.

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## Related topics

[sparrow app](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/sparrow-app)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-10-25.*