--- description: Find out why Crowd Compass is on TIME's list of 2025's best inventions. title: Crowd Compass: The Best Inventions of 2025 image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbf46dd2e76edbd0f/6998ca35e1ba00255998df3e/digital-friend-finding-compass-TIME-best-inventions-2025.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Oct 09, 2025 # Crowd Compass Friend finder by [Matt Alderton](/author/matt-alderton/) ## Matt Alderton Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close  Courtesy Crowd Compass Chris Dimoff was at a packed music festival when he thought of Crowd Compass, a friend-finding tool for events where cellphone networks are overwhelmed. “I lost my friends for half the night because my phone had no service,” says CEO Dimoff. His solution, launched in 2024, is a battery-powered, water-resistant device that uses GPS and long-range mesh radio technology to guide users to each other—no cell or Wi-Fi network required. Each LED on Crowd Compass represents another device in the paired group, adjusting in real-time as users move. The devices can also show nearby emergency services, and allow no-service messaging. These are independent reviews of the products mentioned, but TIME receives a commission when purchases are made through affiliate links at no additional cost to the purchaser. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318262/crowd-compass/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318262/crowd-compass/"},"headline":"Crowd Compass","datePublished":"2025-10-09T11:00:16.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T11:54:47.121Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318262/crowd-compass/","keywords":["Tech","E-Commerce","list","franchise","Magazine","best inventions","Special Project","sponsorshipblock","Accolades","Best Inventions 2025"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbf46dd2e76edbd0f/6998ca35e1ba00255998df3e/digital-friend-finding-compass-TIME-best-inventions-2025.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Matt Alderton","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/matt-alderton/"}],"creator":"Matt Alderton","articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbf46dd2e76edbd0f/6998ca35e1ba00255998df3e/digital-friend-finding-compass-TIME-best-inventions-2025.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/best-inventions-2025/7318262/crowd-compass/","name":"Crowd Compass"}}]}] ```