In a wireless network, two or more devices can determine how close they are from one another in a peer-to-peer way, by exchanging the network characteristics they observe in real time. A method for determining device proximity in a wireless network, includes characterizing at a first device any detected wireless network radio signals; receiving any broadcast network characteristics from at least one other device on the network; comparing the first device network characteristics with the received network characteristics from the at least one other device on the network; if the network characteristics are within a predetermined relationship, the first device and the at least one other device are in proximity with one another. Network characteristics may include signal strength, noise level and MAC address of the transmitting device. The method eliminates the need to calibrate WiFi signal strength as a function of location in a particular area.