# glancy vs. Zenly

Zenly was discontinued on February 3, 2023, but people still search for it. Here is what it did, and how glancy compares for anyone still looking for a replacement.




Zenly was a dedicated friend-location app, acquired by Snap Inc. in 2017 and shut down on [February 3, 2023](https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/05/zenly-was-the-best-social-app-and-it-will-sadly-shut-down-on-february-3rd/) after Snap chose not to integrate or keep funding it. It's still one of the most-searched "alternatives to" queries in this space years later - this page is for anyone who misses it and hasn't found a replacement yet.

## What Zenly offered

Zenly's standout feature was Ghost Mode with three precision levels **per friend**: exact location, a blurred position (roughly 10 m to 1.2 km off), or a frozen pin at your last known spot before enabling it. That per-connection granularity was more flexible than most apps that are still active today.

## Where glancy compares

glancy's [approximate location](/en/features/approximate-location) setting covers the same core idea - exact or approximate, chosen per connection - and it's actively maintained, unlike Zenly. glancy adds [access notifications](/en/features/access-notifications) on top, which Zenly did not have: it never notified you when a friend viewed your location.

## Moving on from Zenly

1. There's no data left to export - Zenly's servers have been offline since 2023. Start by sending glancy connection requests to whoever was in your old Zenly circle.
2. If per-friend precision levels were the feature you miss most, glancy's exact/approximate setting per connection is the closest actively maintained equivalent.

## FAQ

### Is Zenly still available?

No. Snap Inc., which had acquired Zenly, shut it down on February 3, 2023, after deciding not to integrate or continue funding it separately from Snapchat.


| Feature | glancy | Zenly |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Notifies on view | Yes | No |
| Access log | Yes | not stated |
| iOS ↔ Android | Yes | Yes |
| Approximate location | Yes | Yes |
| Time-limited sharing | Yes | not stated |
| Scheduled sharing | Yes | not stated |
| Pause sharing | Yes | Yes |
| Mutual connection required | Yes | Yes |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |


## Sources

Zenly: Verified 2026-09-14
- Zenly: [https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/05/zenly-was-the-best-social-app-and-it-will-sadly-shut-down-on-february-3rd/](https://techcrunch.com/2022/12/05/zenly-was-the-best-social-app-and-it-will-sadly-shut-down-on-february-3rd/)
- Zenly: [https://community.zen.ly/hc/en-us/articles/360000701587-What-s-Ghost-Mode-](https://community.zen.ly/hc/en-us/articles/360000701587-What-s-Ghost-Mode-)