Tips for Users

03/17/24

6 min

What Does a Bubble Look Like on Life 360?

Explore the concept of Bubbles on Life 360, learn how Life 360 bubbles work, and why they are crucial for safety. Discover Number Tracker, an alternative app that offers high-level privacy control and accurate date tracking

Although location-sharing apps, such as Life 360, are generally used by those who desire to stay constantly connected with their relatives and friends, some people still doubt the implications of potential cyberstalking and constant surveillance. Life360’s idea of creating “Bubbles” seemed like a perfect solution that introduced privacy-respecting functionality.

Join us to see what a Bubble is on Life 360, how it works, and what you may use instead of Life360.

screenshot of Life 360 Bubbles with a button Active Bubble


What is a Life 360 Bubble?

Life 360 allows users to create “circles”, that is private groups of people with whom you are able to keep in touch and share location. By 2020, Life 360 had been criticized a lot because of “location-monitoring abuse” coming from overly protective users and the rest. Since then, the app's developers wondered how to make Life 360 stay at one location correctly for one to anyway stay safe. This is exactly where the concept of “Bubbles” comes into play. 

Now, let us turn to the question of what a bubble is in the Life 360 app. “Bubble” is a user-oriented feature that enables location-sharing customization. This means that precise locations will not be shared; instead, the app will only display their approximate position around a specific area. 

How Do Life 360 Bubbles Work?

Users may create Bubbles and customize the size and duration according to their needs. These bubbles are defined by the location and time. As soon as the Bubble is set up, all of the Circle members are notified about you having paused the exact location sharing. Therefore, they are no longer able to see your precise location.

This is how this Bubble feature is turned on: 

  1. Tap on the “Create a Bubble” button.

  2. Adjust the diameter of the Bubble to encompass a larger or smaller area, depending on the desired level of accuracy (1 to 25 miles).

  3. Set your Bubble duration (up to 6 hours).

  4. Send a notification to your Circle and tap on “Done”.


screenshot of Life360 create a bubble button



Note that you may not have the rights to create a Bubble as you were not given access by the admin of the Circle. If so, you may not even know what a Bubble looks like on Life 360.


By employing this feature, users may understand how to fool Life 360, enhance safety, and establish connections within their Circle without getting too vulnerable. Teenagers may create bubbles for their parents to stay informed that their child is safe and sound without specified positioning on the map. 

What Is Bubble Access on Life 360?

Bubble access refers to the permissions given by the admin of the Circle to burst and create Bubbles on their own. Users may choose which Circle members have access to this feature and how they may manage the Bubbles, as well as whom to restrict Bubble access (for example, young schoolers or troubled teens). 

How to Burst a Bubble?

If the user wants to turn this feature off and start sharing the location again, they should tap on the “Pop Bubble” button on the Active Bubble screen. By the way, Bubbles may burst automatically if the app detects emergencies (e.g., a car crash). 

Nevertheless, any Circle member may pop the Bubble if they feel the need. In this case, one who creates the circle receives a notification about bursting the Bubble while other users get access to the precise location.

Apps to Replace Life 360

Though Life 360 is a popular choice for location sharing and safety monitoring, there are alternative options that are not inferior to the Life 360 app while offering similar features and functions. One of them is Number Tracker, a modern app designed to share and track locations within families or groups of friends. 

screenshot of the Number Tracker main page


What Sets Number Tracker Apart?

Number Tracker became a great alternative to Life 360 with its high-level privacy control, user-friendly interface, and advanced features that may fascinate their users. Number Tracker’s team studied what could discern their users, which resulted in creating a modern, privacy-centric app.

First of all, Number Tracker appreciates the privacy and private life of their users, this is why you may always toggle location sharing on or off, regardless of the role in the Circle. Users may thoroughly manage their location data and not doubt concerns about privacy invasion and unnecessary surveillance. 

Moreover, Number Tracker offers a manageable and transparent interface that boosts the general user experience and attitude toward the app. The simplicity of the design in a good sense never confuses a user and does not produce a negative impact on them. Thus, one does not have to Google how to pause their location sharing or turn this feature on again.

Number Tracker does not fail at real-time location monitoring and provides accurate tracking data to their users. Unlike Life 360, which is infamous for rare but drastic location sharing fails, Number Tracker offers precise tracking when it is not paused on purpose. 


Features like Bubbles on Life 360 are an inevitable reaction to the problem of cyberstalking and privacy abuse. When users are allowed to customize their sharing location process, it increases customers’ loyalty and their attitude toward the app. Though Life 360 is still a great option, you may also utilize apps like Number Tracker. With its emphasis on privacy control, Number Tracker offers a modern solution to the problem of unexpected invasion into private life and still ensures user security.


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