Sharing your location with others can be useful in many situations. Whether you want to let friends and family know where you are, coordinate a meetup, or share your location for safety reasons, modern technology makes it easy to share your real-time location data.
Why Would You Want to Share Your Location?
There are a few common reasons you may want to share your location with others:
- Meeting up with friends or family – Let others see your location to pick the most convenient meeting spot or find you in a crowd.
- Safety – Share your location so friends/family know where you are. Many apps let you share for a set time.
- Coordinating trips – Share your location with travel companions so it’s easy to meet up.
- Social media – Check in on social media or share your location in messaging apps.
- Emergencies – Share your location with emergency contacts or services if needed.
- Gaming – Some games use your location to coordinate playing with others nearby.
Ways to Share Your Location on a Smartphone
Modern smartphones, with their GPS technology, make it simple to share your real-time location data. Here are some common ways to share your location on a smartphone:
Text Message
Apps like Messages on iPhone and the Messages app on Android phones support location sharing through text messages. You can share your current location, which sends a map link, or set a length of time to share your live location in iMessage.
The WhatsApp messaging app lets you share your live location in real-time with your WhatsApp contacts. You can set a duration for how long you want to share your location.
Facebook Messenger
In a Messenger conversation, tap on the + symbol and select Location to share your live location that updates as you move. You can set a duration or share indefinitely.
Snapchat
Snapchat has a Map feature that lets you share your location with your friends. They’ll be able to see your Bitmoji on the map. You can choose who to share with and for how long.
Phone’s Location Sharing/Find My Friends
iPhones and Android phones have built-in location sharing features:
- iPhone: Find My app lets you share your location with friends and family.
- Android: Google Maps lets you share your real-time location through the app.
You can usually set a length of time to share your location.
Ride Sharing Apps
Apps like Uber and Lyft require you to share your location with the driver so they can pick you up. You can watch as they drive to your location in real-time.
Travel/Meetup Apps
Apps like Meetup and TripIt can use your location to help coordinate in-person meetups and share information relevant to your location.
Emergency Services
Emergency services may request access to your location if you call 911 from your smartphone. This helps emergency personnel locate you.
Sharing Your Location on Desktop
There are a few ways to share your real-time location from your laptop or desktop computer:
Google Hangouts
If you’re chatting on Google Hangouts in your browser, you can click on your profile picture and select Share your location to send a map of your location to contacts.
Facebook Messenger
In a Messenger conversation on desktop, click on the video icon in the chat box and select Share Location instead to send your location.
WhatsApp Web
Open WhatsApp in your desktop browser, click Attach > Location and select Share Live Location to share your real-time location through WhatsApp on desktop.
Gmail
In the desktop Gmail app, open a new email and click on the paperclip icon to attach your location. This will send a static map image of your location.
Sharing Location via Links
You can also create map links to share your location or a specific meeting spot without requiring location access. Apps like Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Waze let you drop a pin on a map and share that link with others.
Apple Maps
- Open the Apple Maps app
- Search for a location or tap and hold to drop a pin
- Tap the Share button and select Copy Link
- Paste the link to share the location
Google Maps
- Open the Google Maps app
- Search or tap and hold to drop a pin
- Tap the name/address and select Share location
- Choose Share as link and send the link
Location Sharing Privacy and Safety
While location sharing has many benefits, there are also safety and privacy considerations to keep in mind:
- Be selective about who you share your location with and when. Turn off sharing promptly when done.
- Be aware that location data reveals routines like home/work addresses.
- Know that shared location could be screenshotted or recorded by others.
- Avoid sharing location with strangers.
- Be cautious about linking social media to location sharing features.
- Share your location over a set duration rather than indefinitely.
Conclusion
Location sharing is a useful feature of modern smartphones and apps. There are many options available for sharing your real-time location from your phone, desktop, or by creating a maps link. Be thoughtful about who sees your location and when. Use location sharing to coordinate with friends and family or for safety, but limit access to avoid privacy risks.