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Guide

Using Badger

Everything you need to get the most out of the map, your conversations and your privacy. New here? Start at the top — it only takes a few minutes.

Getting started

Open Badger on the web, your phone or your desktop and sign in — there are no passwords to remember.

1

Sign in

Choose Continue with Google or enter your email to get a one-tap magic link. Tap the link and you’re in.

2

Pick a display name

This is how friends recognise you on the map and in chats. You can change it any time in Settings.

3

Your first group

Badger automatically creates a starter group for you, so you’re never staring at an empty screen. Rename it, invite people, or start a direct message instead.

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On the go? Badger works the same on iOS, Android, the web and desktop. Sign in anywhere and your conversations follow you.

The map & moods

The map is the heart of Badger. Every friend who’s sharing with you appears as a marker showing their avatar, their mood aura and a status emoji.

Setting your mood

Tap the mood header at the top of the map to open the picker. Choose a primary and secondary mood, and add a status emoji to say what you’re up to. Your marker updates for everyone, live.

Reading the map

  • A coloured aura around a marker shows that person’s mood at a glance.
  • A small activity icon shows if they’re still, walking, running, cycling or driving — worked out on their own device, never from shared sensors.
  • Friends standing close together fan out into a tidy “spider” so nobody’s hidden underneath.
  • A crowd collapses into a single count bubble — tap it to zoom in and break it apart.
  • Tap any marker to open that person’s status and jump straight into a chat.
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A padlock on a marker means that person — or you — is currently Hidden. See Location & Hidden mode.

Messages & groups

Badger has two kinds of conversation, and both are end-to-end encrypted.

Direct messages

Tap a friend’s marker or start a new message to open a private 1:1 chat. Send text, photos, videos, voice notes, files, GIFs and polls — only the two of you can read them.

Groups

Create a named group for your housemates, a trip, or a regular crew. Invite people by name, promote co-admins, and set how long messages are kept before they auto-expire.

✉️

Incoming DM requests and group invitations land in your inbox. Accept to start sharing, or decline — nothing is shared until you say yes.

Posts & replies

Posts are a calmer way to share with a whole group — like a campfire rather than a megaphone.

  • Write a post to a group and everyone in it can see it.
  • Replies thread underneath the original, so conversations stay readable.
  • Tap the likes on a post to see exactly who reacted.

Location & Hidden mode

Sharing your location is always your choice, and you can dial it in per conversation.

Choosing who sees you

Location sharing is opt-in. You decide which DMs and groups can see where you are — turn it on for the people you’re meeting, leave it off for everyone else.

Going hidden

Flip the Hidden switch and you disappear from the map entirely — your marker is parked safely out of sight and stops publishing until you choose to reappear.

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Location updates are throttled and battery-friendly. Badger won’t hammer your GPS just to keep a dot moving.

Media, polls & sharing

Tap the + in any DM or group to send more than words. Everything is encrypted on your device first, so only the people in the conversation can open it.

Photos & video

Send a single photo or a whole album, or a video — record a clip on the spot or pick one from your gallery. Photos open in a clean full-screen viewer; videos play with a tap.

Voice notes

Tap + → Voice and just talk — you’ll see a live waveform as you record. Send it and your friends get a player they can scrub through, waveform and all.

Files, GIFs & stickers

Attach a document or any file straight from your device, or drop in a GIF or sticker to say it with a little more personality.

Polls

Can’t agree on a plan? Add a Poll with a question and a few options. Everyone taps to vote, and anyone can tap View votes to see who picked what.

Sharing from other apps

  • On iPhone & Android: use the system Share sheet and pick Badger to send a link, photo, video or file straight into a conversation.
  • On desktop: drag an image, link or file onto the Badger window and choose who to send it to.
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Heavier media — video, voice notes and files — is encrypted and stored as opaque blobs, with the key kept only on your devices. Nobody in between can open them.

Notifications

Badger lets you know when something needs you — a new message, an invitation, or a DM request — and keeps the app-icon badge honest so the number always matches what’s waiting.

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For your privacy, a notification tells you who it’s from and the kind of thing they sent — “a photo”, “a voice message”, “a poll” — but never the actual contents. Open the app to read the encrypted message.

Settings & your account

  • Display name & avatar — change how friends see you.
  • Theme — warm light by day, easy dark by night; it follows your preference everywhere.
  • Location defaults — choose whether new DMs share your location automatically.
  • Sign out — clears this device and stops notifications to it.
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Stuck on something? The Help & FAQ page covers the most common questions — or reach us from there.

Go to the app →