Nearmark
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash.
A time-based reminder is useful when you know when something matters. A location-based reminder is better when you know where it matters.
On iPhone, you can create a reminder that appears when you arrive at or leave a place. You can also use Nearmark to save a place, see how far away it is, find its direction, and receive an alert when you cross a boundary around it. This guide explains both approaches and helps you choose the right one.
What is a location-based reminder?
A location-based reminder uses a virtual boundary around a real place. This boundary is often called a geofence. When your iPhone detects that you have entered or left the area, it can show a notification.
That makes location alerts useful for prompts such as:
- remember a parcel when you reach the collection point;
- pick up an ingredient when you are near the right shop;
- retrieve something before you leave work;
- notice when you are approaching a station, trailhead, car park, or meeting place; or
- revisit a café, viewpoint, or shop you saved weeks ago.
The important difference is context. You do not have to guess what time you will arrive. The place itself becomes the trigger.
How to set a location-based reminder on iPhone
Apple’s built-in Reminders app is the simplest option when you have a specific task to complete at a familiar address.
- Open Reminders and create a new reminder.
- Enter the task you want to remember.
- Open the reminder’s details and add a location.
- Choose an existing suggestion or search for an address.
- Select whether the reminder should appear when you arrive or leave.
- Adjust the location boundary if that option is available, then save the reminder.
Location Services and notifications must be enabled for the reminder to appear. Apple notes that location-based reminders need access to your precise location. You can review an app’s access under Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services. See Apple’s guides to using Reminders in your daily routine and managing Location Services.
When Apple Reminders is the right tool
Use Reminders when the main thing you care about is a task: “collect the prescription,” “take the charger,” or “ask about the booking.” The task is primary and the location decides when to surface it.
If the place itself is what you want to remember, a saved-place tool can be a better fit. You may want to know how far away a place is, which direction it lies in, or when you have crossed a chosen distance from it without attaching a to-do item.
How to get an alert when you are near a saved place
Nearmark is designed around places rather than task lists. The basic workflow is:
- Save the place. Add a location you want to keep, whether it is an everyday destination or somewhere you may return to months later.
- Choose a boundary. Set the distance around the place that should count as “near.”
- Choose the direction. Ask for an alert when you enter the boundary, leave it, or both.
- Allow the required permissions. Background location access lets iPhone detect crossings when Nearmark is not on screen, while notification permission lets it tell you what happened.
- Carry on. Nearmark uses the saved boundary and iPhone’s location system to notice the crossing.
You can also open a saved place to see its straight-line distance, use the compass to find its direction, or start Live Tracking to keep changing distance visible on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. See how Nearmark works.
How large should a location boundary be?
There is no single perfect radius. A useful boundary gives iPhone enough room to detect the crossing while still alerting you at a relevant moment.
| Situation | A sensible starting point | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Walking in a town or city | 150–300 metres | Usually enough notice to change direction without alerting several streets too early. |
| Travelling by car or bus | 500 metres–1 kilometre | Movement is faster, so a larger boundary gives the phone and you more time. |
| Approaching a station, airport, or trailhead | 1–3 kilometres | Useful when preparation matters before arrival. |
| Leaving home or work | 100–250 metres | Helps avoid an alert caused by small location changes while you are still inside. |
Treat these as starting points. Dense buildings, underground travel, weak signal, reduced location accuracy, and the speed of travel can all affect when a crossing is detected. If an alert arrives too early, make the boundary smaller. If it arrives too late or inconsistently, increase it.
Arrival alerts and departure alerts solve different problems
An arrival alert is useful when an action becomes possible at a place. It can remind you about a shop while you are close enough to visit, surface a gate code when you reach a building, or bring a saved viewpoint back to mind during a walk.
A departure alert is useful when something must happen before you go too far. It can prompt you to collect an item before leaving work, check a room before leaving a hotel, or remember where a temporary stop ended.
Using both directions can make sense for a small number of important places. For most saved places, choosing only the direction that has a clear purpose keeps notifications quieter.
Location alerts that are actually worth setting
The most useful alerts tend to be specific and occasional. Good candidates include:
- a specialist shop you only pass every few weeks;
- a restaurant or café recommended by a friend;
- a parcel locker, repair counter, or dry cleaner;
- a landmark near a turning on a walking route;
- the entrance to a large venue or transport hub;
- a place where you borrowed, stored, or left something; and
- a destination where you want advance notice before arriving.
Avoid adding alerts to every place you save. A personal map can hold many places; notifications should be reserved for the few that benefit from interrupting you.
Why a location alert may not appear exactly at the boundary
A geofence is not a tripwire drawn to centimetre accuracy. iPhone balances location awareness with battery use and privacy. The position available to an app can vary in accuracy, and the system may confirm a crossing after you have moved some distance beyond the chosen radius.
For more reliable alerts:
- keep Precise Location enabled for the app;
- allow the level of location access requested for background alerts;
- make sure notifications are allowed;
- use a boundary appropriate to your speed and surroundings;
- avoid force-quitting the app if you expect background monitoring; and
- test an important alert before relying on it during a journey.
Nearmark shows uncertainty near a boundary rather than pretending an imprecise reading is exact. Saved places and crossing history remain on your device, and persistent boundary alerts use iPhone’s system monitoring rather than continuous high-power GPS polling.
Location-based reminders versus saved-place alerts
| Choose this | When it fits best |
|---|---|
| Apple Reminders | You have a task that should appear when you arrive at or leave an address. |
| Apple Maps Places or Guides | You want to bookmark and organise destinations for later reference. Apple explains how to save places and add notes in Maps. |
| Nearmark | You want distance, direction, and configurable entry or exit alerts centred on saved places. |
These tools can complement each other. Save a collection of travel ideas in Maps, keep task-specific prompts in Reminders, and use Nearmark for the smaller set of places whose distance or proximity you want to notice.
Frequently asked questions
Can an iPhone remind me when I arrive somewhere?
Yes. Create a reminder in Apple Reminders, add a location, and choose the arrival option. Location Services, Precise Location, and notifications need to be available for reliable delivery.
Can I get a notification when I am near a saved location?
Yes. Nearmark lets you save a place and add a boundary around it. You can choose an entry alert, an exit alert, or both. A slightly larger radius is usually better if you want “nearby” notice before reaching the exact destination.
Do location alerts work when the app is closed?
Background location alerts are intended to work when the app is not on screen, provided the necessary permissions are enabled. Delivery is still managed by iOS, and force-quitting an app can prevent background location events until it is opened again.
Do location-based reminders drain the battery?
System boundary monitoring is designed to be more efficient than keeping GPS active continuously. Nearmark’s persistent boundary alerts and its optional Live Tracking feature serve different purposes: boundary alerts wait for crossings, while Live Tracking provides more frequent distance updates and may use more power while active.
Does a location reminder share my location with other people?
Not by itself. A location-based reminder uses your device’s position to evaluate a trigger. Nearmark stores saved places and crossing history on your device, requires no account, and includes no analytics. Sharing a place is a separate action you control.
A simple way to start
Choose one place you are likely to pass this week but might otherwise forget. Save it, set a generous arrival boundary, and see whether the alert reaches you at a useful moment. Adjust the distance once, then use what you learned for the next place.
That small experiment is more valuable than building a long list of untested alerts. The aim is not to receive more notifications. It is to notice the right place at the right time.
Explore Nearmark’s place, distance, compass, and boundary features.