During Ramadan, there are over 60M queries for “direction to Qibla”. People pray more often and to do this, they need to be able to accurately find the Qibla, the direction to Mecca. While many apps are available, they’re largely inaccurate, hard to use, and must be downloaded or purchased.

Our solution was Qibla Finder, a free web app which uses a phone’s compass and GPS to accurately find Mecca, then augmented reality and the phone’s camera to point users in the right direction.

To make it more accessible, Qibla Finder was designed to only use the data and features each device is capable of, an important feature in countries with hardware and data constraints. The app is open and free on the web and exists in 16 languages. By using advanced browser APIs, we were able to create native app functionality in a fast and beautiful web experience.

The Qibla Finder looks simple, but it’s built on very complex technology. The app uses your phones GPS and compass, along with the time of day and an accelerometer, calibrated against the curvature of the Earth using the Haversine Formula, plus augmented reality to create an elegant line that leads to Mecca. The app’s modern style and colour pallette was designed to appeal to the wide variety of global communities it would serve, as well as align with Google’s brand guidelines. The experience visually changes based on the time of day as well.

It works no matter where in the world the user is or what kind of device or broadband connection they are on. The Qibla Finder is a progressive web app, which means it can adjust to work on a broad range of devices, from low-powered, entry-level mobiles to the latest sensor-packed devices, and all kinds of tablets and desktops in between.

Since the beginning, Google’s goal has been to develop services that improve the lives of as many people as possible. Because we wanted the Qibla Finder to be accessible by everyone, everywhere, we made it on the free and open web instead of an app store. We also made the site available in 16 languages around the globe. As a result, on average, we have monthly visits from 206 countries.

Qibla Finder was released to the public for free during the holy period of Ramadan in June of 2017 and is still functional, with over 500,000 average monthly users.