About Online Compass

Online Compass is a free directional compass that runs entirely in your web browser. Point your phone and it shows your heading in degrees and cardinal directions, reading magnetic north straight from your device’s built-in sensor, no app to download, no account to create, and nothing installed.

Why we built it

A compass is one of the oldest and most useful instruments there is, and almost everyone now carries one in their pocket without realising it. Yet most “compass” websites are slow, buried in pop-ups, and quietly upload your data. We wanted the opposite: a compass that is fast, beautifully simple, respectful of your privacy, and genuinely accurate, the kind of tool you’re happy to bookmark and come back to.

How it works, in short

Modern phones and tablets contain a magnetometer that senses the Earth’s magnetic field. Online Compass reads this sensor through your browser’s standard motion and orientation APIs and turns it into a live heading. When you share your location, it also calculates your local magnetic declination using the World Magnetic Model so it can show a true-north-corrected reading, not just magnetic north.

Privacy first

Everything happens locally, on your device. Your heading, your orientation and your coordinates are processed in the browser and are never sent to us or anyone else. We can’t see where you are or which way you’re pointing, and we like it that way. The site is supported by unobtrusive advertising so it can stay completely free.

A note on accuracy

Online Compass is designed to be as accurate as your device’s sensor allows, but a phone compass is not a survey instrument. Please don’t rely on it as your sole means of navigation for aviation, marine, wilderness or any safety-critical activity. Calibrate regularly, keep clear of magnets and metal, and cross-check when it matters.