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Show HN: MBCompass – Android Compass App
Hey HN,
I built MBCompass, a lightweight, privacy-friendly compass app for Android. It works fully offline, doesn’t ask for unnecessary permissions (no GPS, no internet), and is open source.
Most compass apps out there are bloated or ad-heavy. I wanted something clean, fast, and featurish. So I made this!
It’s only ~1.7 in size and uses a low-pass filter to smooth sensor readings.
I’d love feedback or thoughts – especially from others building simple, privacy-first apps!
https://f-droid.org/packages/com.mubarak.mbcompass/ https://f-droid.org/packages/com.mubarak.mbcompass/
https://github.com/MubarakNative/MBCompass https://github.com/MubarakNative/MBCompass
- leecommamichael 1y agoDoes Android not have a Compass app?
- nativeforks 1y agoYeah, all Android phones have compass apps or Google Maps features. But MBCompass is unique because it’s fully open source, privacy-friendly, and super lightweight — no ads or trackers, and works offline. Plus, it shows your location on an OpenStreetMap-based map, which most compass apps don’t have. Thanks for asking! :)
- BoorishBears 1y agoAOSP doesn't even have a calculator anymore, I'm not sure it actually has a compass.
- nativeforks 1y agoExactly — AOSP dropped a lot of basics. That’s part of why I built MBCompass. :)
- skeledrew 1y agoHmm I don't recall ever seeing one on early devices (been using Android since Cupcake), and there definitely isn't one on my current (OnePlus 12, Android 15). Always had to download from the Market/Store when needed.
- anonymousiam 1y agoInternet is useful for updating the declination "constants" for your location. Otherwise, the compass is not really very accurate in all locations. https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/compass-declination.html https://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/compass-declination....
- nativeforks 1y agoMy next milestone is to implement magnetic declination correction using GPS. That way, the app can provide more accurate results by adjusting magnetic readings to true north while still respecting user privacy. Thanks for the great suggestion!
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- iisan7 1y agoWould be great to have the option to input a major city and have it in a lookup table instead of requiring gps to be on and additional permissions.
- nativeforks 1y agoThis doesn't work like that, mate! OSM has a tile server limit policy because it operates on donations for the server. We need to adhere to this, so I do as much as I can to limit the tile server use. Once I have enough users. I will self-host it and add additional features. Thanks for asking.
- advisedwang 1y agoDo you really need a DB lookup for declination? I'd imagine it can be worked out from lat/long and a single stored magnetic north location (although I suppose that might need updating).
- nativeforks 1y ago
- throwaway81523 1y ago[flagged]
- nativeforks 1y agoTrail Sense is awesome — love the survival tools, and sun/moon data! MBCompass is more focused: great for quick direction checks, offline use, and showing your location on OSM with zero clutter.
- throwaway81523 1y agoI've been using Organic Maps though there is some kind of more community-oriented fork of it now, that I should check into. It would be cool to add a solar compass feature to MPCompass. I've been wanting to suggest that to the Trail Sense author too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt%27s_solar_compass https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt%27s_solar_compass
- nativeforks 1y agoThat’s a cool idea — I hadn’t heard of Burt’s solar compass before! Would be fun to explore as an optional mode in MBCompass. Thanks for the link — I’ll definitely read more into it.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- weinzierl 1y agoI am curious what your experience with a free and ethical app in a walled garden will be. I had a similar idea. About two years ago my kid was playing a simple mobile game with her friends a lot. There are many variations of the game theme but they are all ad infested privacy nightmares listlessly fiddled together. I thought we could do better and make a good and ethical version - also as an educational project. The game turned out well, but we haven't published it yet. It is still planned, but I had to learn free apps apparently are an uphill battle in walled garden ecosystems. If you think about it, it makes sense: Apple and Google don't like to get their 30% cut from nothing. I believe that is the deeper reason apps like ours are so rare.
- nativeforks 1y agoTotally agree — it's tough putting something ethical and free into platforms that are built around ads and in-app purchases. I released MBCompass on F-Droid first for that reason, and I’m still figuring out how to reach users who care about privacy and simplicity.
- 2Gkashmiri 1y agoPlease do. You can host on both fdroid and Google play / app store for free. F droid constantly needs high quality apps and passion projects are enjoyed by the community well. I spent a lot of time doing free QA for F-droid apps exclusively and there are a lot of people who do that
- nativeforks 1y agoThanks! I don’t have a Play Store account yet due to budget, but this is on my to-do list.
- 2Gkashmiri 1y agoYou can start on f droid and maybe people can chip in to fund that
- 1y ago
- esafak 1y agoCan you make it a widget so it stays on the screen?
- nativeforks 1y agoThanks for the great idea! I’ve noted it down and will look into it for a future update
- esafak 1y agoTry charging 99c for the widget...
- nativeforks 1y agoI think instead of charging for app features, I’d prefer to add a donation page — if users like the app, they can support it. If not, no problem — it’ll always be free to use.
- nativeforks 1y ago@skeledrew Fair question! For me, the drive comes from passion and the joy of building something clean and useful. It’s less about standing out for fame, more about being found by the right people — folks who value FOSS, privacy, and ethical software. And yeah, alternative stores like Aurora or F-Droid make that discovery easier. :)
- AshamedCaptain 1y agoMy favorite simple compass app is https://github.com/Kr0oked/Compass https://github.com/Kr0oked/Compass which is also on f-droid. Pretty snappy, almost matches the refresh rate and latency of the iphone's compass app. TFA looks way more sluggish, but I guess it is an effect of the smoothing.
- nativeforks 1y agoThanks for the comparison! Yeah, MBCompass applies smoothing intentionally to reduce jitter on noisy sensors — especially on low-end devices. That can make it look a bit less snappy, but I'm working on making it more responsive without sacrificing stability. Appreciate the feedback!
- h-c-c 1y agoWhy does this app need network permissions?
- nativeforks 1y agoGood question! It needs network permission only to load the OpenStreetMap tiles for showing your location on the map. No data is collected or sent anywhere — privacy is a core focus. :)
- ianburrell 1y agoIt would be really useful if it could show true north in addition to magnetic north. The location should give you declination.
- nativeforks 1y agoThanks! I’ve actually already answered this earlier in the thread — true north using declination based on location is my current milestone. I know how important it is for a modern compass app and am working on it