Get your phone ready
- Update Beside, open the app and sign in. Keep mobile data or Wi-Fi available so profiles and encounter history can load.
- Turn on Bluetooth in your phone’s Settings and keep it on while you are out.
- On Android, open Settings → Apps → Beside → Permissions. Allow Nearby devices or Bluetooth and the location permissions Beside requests, including background location access when prompted. The names of these settings vary by Android version.
- On iPhone, open Settings → Privacy & Security → Bluetooth and allow Beside access. Reopen Beside after changing the setting.
- Turn on discovery in Beside. Use the Beside logo in the app to check its state and resume discovery if it is paused.
- Keep discovery active as you go about your day. Follow the background settings below so your phone can keep discovering when the screen is off.
Allow discovery in the background
On Android, open Beside’s app settings and check Battery or Background activity. Allow background activity for Beside and remove any battery restriction that is stopping it from running. Some phones also have a sleeping-apps list; keep Beside out of that list. Setting names depend on the manufacturer.
On iPhone, keep Bluetooth access enabled and reopen Beside if you have deliberately closed it. iOS manages Bluetooth activity in the background. If encounters appear only while the app is open, use the background-discovery guide to check your setup.
Try somewhere busy
Take Beside to a busy café, a concert or festival, a university campus or a popular walking area. Places where lots of people pass through give you more chances to cross paths with other Beside users.
Enable discovery before you arrive, keep it on while you are there and give it time to find nearby users. Check the nearby view during your visit and your encounter history afterward.
The smallest search area on the market
Beside uses Bluetooth to focus on people in your immediate surroundings. Our smallest search area on the market is designed for real crossings of paths, so being somewhere busy matters. Discovery range varies with your phone and surroundings.
No fake profiles added: we do not fill your feed with invented people to make it look busy. Profiles come from encounters with other people using Beside. If nobody has been discovered nearby yet, the list can be empty.
Check your encounter history too
Someone may have moved away by the time you open Beside. Your encounter history lets you return to profiles discovered earlier, even when those people are no longer nearby.
Still need help?
If discovery still seems unavailable after these steps, contact support with your phone model, operating system, Beside version and the settings you checked. Mention whether the issue happens with the app open or only in the background, and include any error message you see.
