Surfshark Launches New Location Sharing App (HeyPolo)

Surfshark built its reputation on VPNs — keeping your data private from ISPs, advertisers, and anyone else with their ear to the wall. Now they’re expanding that privacy-first philosophy into a space that’s long needed it: location sharing. On March 23, 2026, Surfshark launched HeyPolo, a consent-based location sharing app positioned as the antidote to always-on surveillance tools like Life360.

I’ve been following Surfshark’s product moves closely given how many of you run their VPN on your Firestick. HeyPolo is a mobile-only app — it won’t install on your Firestick (more on that below) — but if you’re a Surfshark subscriber curious about what else they’re building, here’s the full breakdown.

What Is HeyPolo?

HeyPolo is Surfshark’s answer to a specific frustration — location sharing apps that treat you like a surveillance target rather than a person. Life360, the market leader, has faced years of criticism for selling user location data to third-party advertisers and enabling the kind of round-the-clock family monitoring that’s more panopticon than practical.

HeyPolo flips that model. You control when you share, how precisely, and for how long. The moment you decide you’re done, sharing stops — automatically if you set a timer, or manually if you don’t.

SurfsharkPaid

Surfshark isn’t new to the privacy space, obviously. Their VPN is one of the best-performing options for Firestick users, and the same no-data-monetization philosophy carries over to HeyPolo. They don’t sell your location data. Full stop.

HeyPolo’s Core Features

The app launched with a focused, well-defined feature set. No bloat, no dark patterns — just the controls you’d actually want if someone handed you the keys to a location sharing app:

Three sharing modes:

• Exact — Precise GPS pin, for when you want someone to find you in a crowd
• General (Area) — Neighborhood-level view, useful for “I’m somewhere in downtown Chicago” without broadcasting your exact block
• Private — Your location is hidden from the group entirely

Timers and auto-stop — Set sharing to expire after an hour, an afternoon, or a trip. No more forgetting you left tracking on.

Arrival alerts — Get notified when someone in your group reaches a destination. Useful for kids getting home from school without running a 24/7 GPS feed.

Trip sharing — Share a live route during travel without giving permanent location access.

Unlimited free invites — The subscription covers you, the account holder. Everyone you invite gets the app free. That’s a meaningful distinction from Life360’s per-family pricing.

Groups — Create separate groups for family, friends, travel companions. Each group gets its own sharing settings.

Pricing

HeyPolo offers a 30-day free trial — no commitment, no credit card trickery noted in the launch coverage. After the trial, the subscription runs $3.99/month ($47.88 billed annually upfront). That covers your account; everyone you invite joins for free.

That’s a reasonable price for a consent-first alternative to Life360’s family plans, which can run significantly higher for full-household coverage.

How HeyPolo Compares to the Alternatives

Quick comparison before we dive into the setup:

HeyPolo’s edge over Life360 is philosophical as much as functional. Life360 has been documented selling precise location data to data brokers. HeyPolo’s business model depends on subscriptions, not data. That alignment of incentives matters.

The honest limitation: HeyPolo is newer than all three competitors. Apple Find My and Google’s tools are deeply integrated into their respective ecosystems — HeyPolo is a standalone app competing for attention on two platforms. It’ll take time to build the feature depth that comes from years of iteration.

Can You Install HeyPolo on Firestick?

Short answer: No. And you shouldn’t try.

The longer answer: HeyPolo is built around GPS location sharing. Firestick hardware doesn’t have a GPS chip — the device is designed to sit behind your TV and stream content, not track your position on a map. Even if you sideloaded the Android APK using the Downloader app method, the core functionality would fail because the device has no location hardware to report.

HeyPolo is a mobile product. If you want to use it, install it on your phone.

How to Set Up HeyPolo (Mobile)

For those of you with an Android phone who want to try it:

Why This Matters for Surfshark’s Direction

HeyPolo isn’t a pivot away from VPNs — it’s an extension of the same privacy thesis. Surfshark already offers antivirus, data breach alerts, and ad blocking under their One subscription. HeyPolo adds location privacy to that stack.

The pattern here is worth noting: Surfshark is building a privacy suite, not just a VPN. For users who care about Firestick security and privacy — keeping your ISP out of your streaming habits, stopping ad targeting, protecting your home network — Surfshark’s expanding product line is increasingly worth paying attention to.

Whether HeyPolo makes it to Fire TV someday is unknown. The hardware limitation is real, but smart TV platforms have increasingly become hubs for all kinds of apps beyond streaming. For now, it’s a mobile play.

The Bottom Line

HeyPolo is a well-conceived product solving a real problem. Life360’s surveillance model has genuinely frustrated users for years, and HeyPolo’s consent-first approach — three sharing modes, auto-stop timers, unlimited free invites — is a legitimate alternative with a business model that doesn’t depend on selling your location data.

For Firestick users specifically: This one doesn’t touch your device. But if you’re a Surfshark subscriber, it’s a useful add-on for your phone. And if you’re not using Surfshark’s VPN on your Firestick yet, that’s the product to start with.

Get Surfshark VPN — Best for Firestick

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Related Reading

If you’re thinking about your overall streaming privacy setup, these are worth bookmarking:

• 5 Best VPNs for Firestick in 2026 — Full breakdown of the top options, tested on real hardware
• Firestick Security & Privacy Guide — The complete rundown on locking down your Fire TV
• How to Sideload Apps on Firestick — For when you do want to install apps that aren’t in the Amazon Appstore

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Last updated: March 2026