How to stay close to a friend without tracking them
Quick answer
To find a friend without tracking them, skip live location entirely and save where they live, then let your phone alert you when you pass nearby.
Tracking means watching a moving dot in real time, often with a saved history of every stop. You do not need that to know when a friend is around. Instead, note where they live on a private list and let your phone do a simple distance check. Nobody follows anyone. There is no trip log and no live map. You just learn, in the moment, that you happen to be near someone you care about.
In one sentence
Parages pings you when you pass near a friend. It tracks nobody.