There’s nothing worse than setting out on an adventure with friends in Minecraft only to lose them along the way. Trying to meet up again can be tricky using only coordinates, but luckily, the player locator bar makes this process a lot easier.
The player locator bar wasn’t always a feature in Minecraft and was only officially added with the Chase the Skies update on June 17, 2025. Since it wasn’t always around, there’s a decent chance you’re not familiar with how it works. Here’s everything you need to know about how to use the player locator bar in Minecraft.
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How does the player locator bar work in Minecraft?
The player locator bar takes over the XP bar whenever there are other players in the same world as you and you’re not earning XP. Other players appear as colored dots that move around the bar depending on which direction you need to head to find them.
If a player happens to be much higher or lower than you, an arrow will appear above or below the icon to help you find their exact location. This system is sort of similar to a compass, as the dots act as arrows pointing you in the right direction.
The icon marking other players on this bar changes depending on how far or close they are to you. There are four different symbols you may see appear on the player locator bar.
- Square – The player is between zero and 179 blocks away.
- Circle – The player is between 179 and 230 blocks away.
- Small square – The player is between 230 and 281 blocks away.
- Small circle – The player is 281 or more blocks away.
How to find players with player locator bar in Minecraft
You can find other players using the player locator bar by simply following the colored dot associated with the player you’re seeking. The easiest way to do this is to turn around in a circle until you get the colored dot you want to follow right in the middle of your bar. Once it’s there, you can simply head straight until you find them. Your goal is essentially to keep heading towards the marker that’s highlighting whichever player you’re trying to find.
How to turn on the player locator bar in Minecraft
The player locator bar is on by default, so you don’t need to do anything to turn it on. If, for some reason, it doesn’t seem to be active, you can type the /gamerule locatorbar true command into the chat box to activate it. You need to be the owner of the server to use this command.
How to hide from player locator bar in Minecraft
If you don’t want to be tracked by the player locator bar, there are three ways you can hide your location from it. The three different methods you can use are:
- Sneak – Crouch and stay sneaking to remain off the player locator bar radar.
- Be invisible – Drink a potion of invisibility to vanish from the player locator bar.
- Wear a mask – Wear a mob head or a carved pumpkin to get around fast without being detected by the player locator bar. The drawback with this method is that you can’t also wear a helmet.
How to turn off player locator bar in Minecraft
There are two different ways you can turn off the player locator bar. To use either of these methods, you must be the owner of the server you’re trying to modify, so if you’re not, you’ll need to have the owner do so instead. The two methods you can use are as follows.
- By typing the /gamerule locatorbar false command into the chat box.
- On Bedrock Edition, you can freely toggle this feature off by navigating to the Multiplayer page in the settings and finding the locator bar option. You can toggle it on and off from this page whenever you desire, although it’s easiest to access when you’re starting a new world.
Now that you know how to find your friends with ease, you can set out together to explore and try many other features in Minecraft. Next, you might ride Happy Ghasts, defeat the Creaking, and build some epic houses.
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