Nearby search narrows candidate records with a spatial index and then applies accurate distance and business filters. Cell systems such as geohash or hierarchical grids trade precision, cell size, and neighbor expansion; a query must consider adjacent cells to avoid missing results near boundaries.

Location data is time-sensitive. A nearby driver position from several minutes ago may be misleading, so include timestamps and freshness thresholds. Separate durable location events from a fast current-state index if replay and analytics are needed.

Location history is sensitive. Minimize retention, restrict access, audit privileged queries, and avoid returning exact coordinates when a coarser result is sufficient. Plan for dense geographic hotspots rather than only average global traffic.