Guide
Which Direction Am I Facing? How to Find Out
Point your phone the way you are looking and the compass tells you instantly which direction you face, in degrees and as N, E, S or W.
Updated September 16, 2026
“Which direction am I facing?” is one of the most common things people ask a compass, and a phone answers it in a second.
The quick answer
Open Online Compass on your phone, tap Start compass, and hold the device flat with the screen up. Point the top edge of the phone in the direction you are looking. The large number in the middle is your heading, and the letters below it are the direction you are facing.
- Heading near 0° (or 360°): you are facing north.
- Around 90°: east.
- Around 180°: south.
- Around 270°: west.
Anything in between reads as a 16-point direction such as NE (45°), SSE (157°) or WNW (292°), so you always get a precise answer.
Why “the top of the phone”?
A compass measures the direction of one reference line on the device. On a phone held flat, that line runs out of the top edge. So the heading always describes where the top of your phone points, which is the direction you are looking when you hold it naturally in front of you. Turn your body and the reading updates live.
Facing a wall, window or street
You do not need to be outdoors. To check the way a room, window or building faces, stand square to it, hold the phone flat and parallel to the surface, and read the heading. This is how people check the aspect of a house (“which way does the front door face?”) or the orientation of a balcony for sun.
True north vs magnetic north
By default the compass shows magnetic north, which can sit a few degrees from true (geographic) north depending on where you are. For everyday “which way am I facing” questions the difference is tiny. If you need the geographic direction, for maps or for Vastu, tap True north and the compass corrects for your location automatically.
Getting an accurate reading
- Hold the phone flat and steady.
- Keep away from magnets, speakers, laptops, cars and steel, which bend the magnetic field.
- If the reading drifts, calibrate by waving the phone in a figure-8 a few times.
Once you know one direction, the rest follow: facing north, east is on your right, south is behind you and west is on your left. Learn more in our guide to compass directions and degrees.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know which direction I am facing right now?
Open a phone compass, point the top of the device the way you are looking, and read the heading. A value near 0° means north, 90° east, 180° south and 270° west. The compass also shows the cardinal label, such as NE or SW.
Can I tell which way I am facing without a compass?
Roughly, yes. In the Northern Hemisphere the sun rises in the east, sits south at midday and sets in the west, so the sun's position gives an approximate direction. A phone compass is far more precise.