Blog
Notes from the people building Will U Be There: knowing when friends are in the same city, finding what's on where you're going, and planning trips with friends without the group-chat mess.
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Apps for expats and digital nomads to stay close to friends
Apps expats and digital nomads use to keep in touch with friends abroad, compared on price and platform as of September 2026, plus the job they skip.
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Apps that tell you when friends are in the same city (2026)
Every app that tells you when friends are in the same city, compared on price, platform, status and location tracking. All checked on 6 September 2026.
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Travelling for work? Start with the friends you already have there
Travelling for work? The fastest way to meet people on a business trip alone is to find who you already know in that city and ask for one evening.
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Concerts in a city on your exact dates: Songkick alternatives
How to see which concerts are on in a city during your travel dates, what Songkick and Bandsintown can filter, and what to check when they come up empty.
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Digital nomad meetups by city, checked in September 2026
Digital nomad meetups in Lisbon, Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Da Nang and Bali, with member counts and weekdays checked on 6 Sep 2026.
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A European alternative to Facebook Events
The European alternatives to Facebook Events in 2026: Mobilizon, Gancio, Eventfrog, and who really owns Luma, Meetup and Eventbrite.
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Facebook Nearby Friends is gone. What to use instead
Facebook shut Nearby Friends down on 31 May 2022. The replacement list for 2026: Snap Map, Instagram Map, Bump, Find My, and the calendar answer.
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How to know when a friend will be in your city (no location sharing)
How to know when a friend will be in the same city as you, on the same dates, without sharing your live location. Twelve apps compared, September 2026.
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Group trip planning apps compared (2026)
Eleven group trip planning apps compared, prices checked 6 September 2026: which are free, date polls, itineraries, splitting and who else is there.
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How to find out what's on in a city you're visiting
Nothing lists every event in a city you are visiting. Find them in this order: the city's own cultural agenda, the tourist board, Songkick, Eventbrite.
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How to plan a group trip with friends (without the group chat)
How to plan a group trip with friends: lock the dates first. Then a 12-week timeline, a paste-in checklist, and which app to use for polls and money.
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Life360 alternatives that don't sell your data
Life360 was caught selling precise location data on 33 million users. The free alternatives that don't sell your data, and where each one stops.
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My friends won't download another app. What actually works
Your friends won't download another app, and they are right. What works: one group link, one occasion already in the calendar, a tool that pays off solo.
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Overlap app shut down: what to use instead
The Overlap app was bought by Pangea in November 2025 and its iPhone listing now 404s. What happened, what Pangea does now, and the alternatives.
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Free Partiful alternatives and what they cost your guests
Partiful is free, but every guest verifies a phone number. The free Partiful alternatives that skip that, compared on price, platform and data.
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Polarsteps alternatives in 2026, and what Plus actually costs
Polarsteps is still free to plan, track and follow trips, but Plus costs 8.99 euros a month since July 2026. The alternatives, priced and compared.
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Snap Map vs Instagram Map vs trip sharing: what each shares
Instagram Map privacy explained, plus a Snap Map alternative. Both maps are off by default. How to turn each one off, and what to share instead.
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Wanderlog and TripIt alternatives for travelling with friends
Free Wanderlog and TripIt alternatives with prices checked on 6 September 2026, plus the one job none of these planners does for a group of friends.
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What to use now that Facebook Events is dead
Facebook Events still works, the room just left. The 2026 options for event invites without Facebook, compared: Partiful, Apple Invites, Luma, Evite.
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Will U Be There vs TripIt: what each one actually does
Will U Be There vs TripIt: TripIt turns forwarded confirmations into an itinerary, Will U Be There tells you which friends are in that city on your dates.
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Zenly alternatives that don't track you in real time
Zenly shut down on 3 February 2023. The live-tracking alternatives in 2026 with real prices, and one Zenly alternative that never sees your location.