Location reminders: remind me when I get there

Yes. In the Buzzley app you add a location trigger to a reminder, pick the place and choose whether it fires when you arrive, when you leave, or both. "Remind me to buy milk when I get to the supermarket" becomes a reminder with the supermarket as its place and Arrive as its trigger.

Location reminders are made in the phone app, on Android or iPhone. The web app shows them but can't create them, because a computer can't tell when you reach the shop.

Set up a location reminder

1. Tap the add button and type what you need to remember, for example "Pick up the parcel".
2. Open Location trigger.
3. Choose the place: Use current location ("Set reminder for where you are now") or one of your Saved places. Home and Work are there to fill in, and you can add your own places in Settings > Location.
4. Under Trigger when, pick Arrive, Leave or Both.
5. Set the Trigger radius: anywhere from 50 to 500 metres, 100 metres by default. A small radius suits a shop on a busy street; a larger one suits a big site such as a station or a campus.
6. Tap Set location trigger, then save the reminder.

Time and place, or place only

A location reminder can work in one of two ways:

• At this location only: no scheduled time. It fires whenever you arrive or leave. Use it for "next time I'm at the hardware store".
• At the scheduled time: the reminder rings at its date and time as usual, and also rings if you arrive at or leave the place within half an hour of that time.

Give Buzzley location access

The first time you add a location trigger, Buzzley asks for your location, then explains why it needs background access. Location reminders only work if the phone lets Buzzley check your position while the app is closed:

• Android: on the system screen, select Allow all the time.
• iPhone: choose Always for Buzzley's location access, and keep Precise Location on, so a 100-metre radius means 100 metres.

Buzzley says on that screen what it does with the location: it is only checked near your saved places, and it is never shared or sold. Settings > Location also has a Location accuracy choice: High, Balanced (recommended) or Low, trading precision against battery.

If a location reminder never fires, our help page for location reminders that don't work goes through the permission, battery and radius checks one by one.

Limits worth knowing

• How many places at once. Phones limit how many areas an app can watch. Buzzley watches up to 100 places at a time on Android and 20 on iPhone. With more location reminders than that, it watches the ones due soonest.
• Arriving takes a moment. The phone notices you crossed the edge of the radius, not the exact second you walk through the door. Very small radii in dense cities can fire late or not at all.
• Location services must be on. If they are off on the phone, Buzzley tells you and can't trigger anything.
• Phone app only. You create and edit location triggers on your phone.

Why people switch for this

Google removed location reminders when Google Keep's reminders moved into Google Tasks, and Microsoft To Do never had them. If that is what sent you looking, the comparison with Google Tasks sets out what each app does with reminders today.

Common questions

Does it drain the battery?

Buzzley uses the phone's own geofencing, which wakes the app near your saved places instead of tracking you all day. If battery is a concern, pick Low under Location accuracy.

Can I add a location reminder from my computer?

No. The web app shows location reminders, but the place and the trigger are set in the phone app.

What does it cost?

Location reminders are in every plan, from Core at $2.99 a month. There is no free plan; the 7-day trial needs no card. See plans and prices.

For a step-by-step on both platforms, including what to do on a phone with strict battery limits, read how to set a location reminder on Android and iPhone.