Empty world...

[Prowny]

if anyone refuses me I just keep following them and chatting away until they give in

I do this too, I befriend everyone whether they want it or not

[Sever]

Your HS doesn't give out your position, the worst someone can do is spawn on your fire and they can't even do that if your fire is indoors
Just don't party up with people you don't know

It does give out your position, if they dual-client and party with their newly created hearthling. I think you're right if it's indoors, though, which is just a small part of why you should always keep your fire indoors if at all possible.

[Metruption]

I'm derailing a bit and this really should go in the questions thread... buuut
Can I still travel to my hf if it's indoors?

[soapdish]

Can I still travel to my hf if it's indoors?

Yes

[borka]

It does give out your position,

A bit missleading - it doesn't give out position but direction (and the bigger the distance the more messy the arrow shows the direction)

[Karede]

But that's only if they actually spawn a character on your fire, right? If your fire's inside that can't happen

[borka]

party arrow shows char direction not HF one