How to share live location on WhatsApp for more than 8 hours?

WhatsApp is one of the most popular messaging apps that allows users to share their live location with friends and family. By default, WhatsApp only allows sharing live location for up to 8 hours. However, there are some simple tricks using which you can share live location on WhatsApp for more than 8 hours.

Why Share Live Location for More Than 8 Hours?

You may want to share your live location with friends and family for an extended period of time when:

• You are on a long drive or road trip
• You are traveling overseas or outstation for several days
• You want your family to track you for safety reasons
• You are meeting someone and want a friend to know your location
• You are in an unknown remote area and want people to track you

In such cases, being able to share live location for more than 8 hours can be useful. Let’s look at how it can be done.

Method 1: Share Location Multiple Times

The simplest way to share live location for more than 8 hours is to just share it multiple times. Follow these steps:

1. Open the individual or group chat you want to share location with
2. Tap on the Attach button and select Location
3. Tap on Share Live Location and select a duration up to 8 hours
4. Tap on Send to share your live location
5. When the timer runs out, you’ll get a notification on WhatsApp
6. Go back to the chat and share your location again for up to 8 hours
7. Repeat this everytime the timer runs out to continue sharing location

This way you can share your live location indefinitely. The only inconvenience is that you have to resend your location manually every 8 hours. Next let’s look at how to automate this process.

Method 2: Use Third-party Apps to Automate

To automate the process of sharing location every 8 hours, you can use third party apps like AutoSender, SKEDit, Tasker etc. These apps allow you to schedule messages and automate various tasks.

Here are the steps to use these apps to share live location indefinitely:

1. Install and setup the app on your Android phone
2. Open the app and create a new automated task
3. Set trigger as time-based, every 8 hours
4. Add action as Share Location on WhatsApp and select duration as 8 hours
5. Select the WhatsApp contact or group to share with
6. Save the automated task
7. The app will now share your location automatically every 8 hours

This saves you the hassle of having to manually send your live location everytime. You can just set it and forget it.

Method 3: Use WhatsApp Business API

WhatsApp also provides a Business API that allows businesses to programmatically send messages and interact with users at scale. This API can be used to automate sharing live location.

Here are the general steps to use the WhatsApp Business API:

1. Sign up for a WhatsApp Business account
2. Get approved to access the WhatsApp Business API
3. Find a Business API provider and obtain an API key
4. Use their SDK/code samples for your platform to integrate the API
5. Programmatically send the Share Live Location message every 8 hours

This method allows full scale automation and you can share location with thousands of users if needed. But it requires more technical expertise compared to using third party apps.

Method 4: Use WhatsApp Web + Extensions

Another method is to use WhatsApp Web along with browser automation extensions to share location every 8 hours.

Here are the steps for this method:

1. Open WhatsApp web on your computer browser
2. Install an automation extension like AutoSendKeys
3. Import the WhatsApp Web chat you want to share location in
4. Use the extension to record the steps of sharing live location
5. Set it to replay the steps automatically every 8 hours

This method works when you have your computer/browser running continuously. The automation extension will keep sharing your location indefinitely.

Things to Note

Here are some things to keep in mind when sharing live location indefinitely on WhatsApp:

• Always inform the recipients that you are sharing indefinitely.
• Stop sharing location when done, don’t keep it on forever.
• Third party apps may impact battery life due to constant location access.
• Automated solutions only work when your phone/computer is on.
• Don’t overshare location unnecessarily for privacy reasons.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a limit to how long you can share live location on WhatsApp?

Technically there is no limit and you can share indefinitely using the methods described above. However, WhatsApp provides option to share location only upto 8 hours at a time.

Does sharing live location drain phone battery?

Yes, constantly sharing live location and accessing GPS does drain battery faster. Some ways to mitigate this are:

• Use Method 3 or 4 so phone battery is not impacted
• Plug phone into a charger when sharing for extended times
• Adjust location accuracy and GPS settings to optimize battery life
• Turn off background data usage for WhatsApp

Can police or anyone else track my location without permission?

No, WhatsApp locations are end-to-end encrypted. No one except the recipients you intentionally share with can view or track your location.

How do I stop sharing my live location on WhatsApp?

On Android: Go to WhatsApp > More Options > Location > Stop Sharing Location

On iPhone: Go to WhatsApp > Account > Privacy > Share My Location > Stop Sharing

This will immediately stop sharing your live location on WhatsApp.

Conclusion

While WhatsApp limits location sharing to 8 hours, there are ways to automatically share your live location indefinitely. This can be useful when traveling or want family to track your location. However, use it mindfully and don’t overshare. Stop sharing as soon as the need is over. Stay safe!