What is nark?

Nark Navigation sends Google Maps turn by turn directions from your Android phone to a ZeppOS smartwatch, such as an Amazfit Bip Max, so you can glance at your wrist instead of pulling your phone out while walking, cycling, or driving. It is made of two parts working together: an Android companion app and a matching app for the smartwatch. The Android app quietly listens for the navigation notifications that Google Maps already produces on your phone, reads the turn by turn instructions out of them, and sends those instructions to your watch over a local Bluetooth connection. Everything happens directly between your two devices, with no cloud server involved, no analytics, and no tracking of your navigation history. To use it, you start navigation as usual in Google Maps, grant the app notification access so it can read those navigation alerts, and connect your smartwatch. From there the phone keeps listening in the background and forwarding updates automatically, so you do not have to open the app again during your trip. Because Android can be aggressive about limiting background apps, the project recommends setting its battery usage to unrestricted so the background service is not shut down mid route. The project has only been tested on one specific watch model so far, though other ZeppOS smartwatches may also work. It is still under active development, so the author is upfront that you may run into bugs, interface glitches, or missed updates occasionally. Both the Android app and the watch app are available to download and install from the project's releases page, and the source for building each part yourself is included in the repository. It is not affiliated with Google or Amazfit, and is released under the MIT license.