7 Ways to Send your Location (GPS coordinates) to Someone.
For those who are poorly oriented or when you are in a new city, online maps are a godsend. Just ask the person to send his / her GPS location and you can meet them right there. No need to waste time explaining the address.
However, this is a two-way street. If you or your friend don’t know how to send GPS location data, this won’t work. So, if someone has asked you to send GPS coordinates and you are unsure how to do this, this guide will help.
Also Read: How to Predict Traffic on Google Maps for Android
How it works?
When you send your location to someone, you are actually sending them your GPS coordinates, which are a combination of two numerical values ​​called latitude and longitude. It looks something like this – 37.263056 °, -115.79302 °. Now, thanks to this latitude and longitude, you can easily find anyone with an accuracy of 3 meters.
Does GPS need internet connection to work?
The answer is yes and no.
When you turn on GPS on your device, it connects directly to the satellite. This system does not require internet or mobile network. However, this handshake between your device and the satellite takes time (for example, a few minutes). Therefore, to speed up the process, most devices use A-GPS (Assisted GPS), which requires an Internet connection.
Simply put, you can send your GPS location without internet (via SMS), and you can also navigate without internet if you have saved maps offline or even if you have them in your cache. But when you are traveling to a new city (that is, a map that you have not saved or opened), GPS will take a long time to get the map, in which case you will need the Internet to use. GPS navigation.
So now that we know the basics, let’s see how to send your GPS location on every popular app like Facebook, WhatsApp, iMessages, etc.
RELATED: Comparing 4 best Offline Maps Apps for Smartphones
1. Share your location on WhatsApp
WhatsApp is a popular instant messaging service, especially in South Asia. So, if both you and your partner have it installed, it makes sense to use it.
Open WhatsApp on your smartphone. Go to the conversation with which you want to send your location. Then click on the attachment option in the upper right corner (looks like a paperclip symbol) Location Click on Send your current location and that’s it. If you are an iPhone user, you need to enable location detection in settings first. To do this, go to the app “Settings” “Privacy” “Location Services” “WhatsApp”.
Whatsapp also invites you to share your current location, which can be shared for up to 8 hours straight. You will need to repeat the action if you want to share your current location for the next watch. The current location is constantly updated in real time, so someone can navigate to your location even when you’re on the go.
2. Share location to Facebook Messenger
Since Facebook makes it mandatory to have a messenger if you want to reply to your messages from your phone, chances are most people already have Facebook Messenger installed.
Open the Facebook Messenger app and navigate to the conversation with the person you want to send your GPS location to then tap on the three horizontal dots icon, right above the text box Location Turn GPS on Current Location Send.
Related: 5 Best Facebook Messenger Alternatives for Android
3. Share the location on Google Hangout
While that number is lower, not everyone uses Facebook or WhatsApp, but if they have an Android smartphone, they most likely already have Hangout built in.
Unlike others, Hangout is smart. If someone sent you text like “ where are you “, a pop-up window will automatically appear asking you to provide your location information. But you can always do it in the usual way.
Open the Hangout app click on the little GPS icon located below the input field Send this address.
4. Share your location with Google Maps
Using Google Maps to share your current location is really easy compared to other apps. For the sole reason that you are inside the map itself, navigation becomes much easier. However, you should use it if you want to share a location that you are not currently in. Like, you want to share your home address while you are sitting in the office. So here’s how you do it.
To share your current location, open the app and click the navigation icon. It will update and set the pin to your current location. Just click on the blue dot representing your location and a pop-up menu will appear at the bottom of the screen. The very first option on the pop-up menu should be “Share my locationâ€.
To share a location you are not currently in, open Google Maps (this works for both the app and the desktop version) find the landmark or place you want to share. Zoom in or scroll a little until you find the exact location you want to share. Then press and hold a place (press once if you are or on the desktop) to drag the pin press the small banner at the bottom to expand it Share.
Now you can send it using an application such as email or instant messaging, whichever suits you best. Watch our video on Tips for Working with Google Maps to get a better understanding.
5. Share location via SMS on Android
If the recipient does not currently have an active Internet connection. Then you can still use your GPS coordinates via SMS and the user will still be able to navigate to you if they have saved maps offline or store them in cache.
Open the default SMS on Android, enter the sender’s name and click the attachment icon to the left of the input field Make sure your GPS is enabled Click on the location icon at the end ​​Send current location.
6. Share the site with messages from Google LLC
Google’s own Message app allows you to send your location information securely. This method is very similar to Android SMS app. Messages from Google are also known for their web version, but there is no location sharing option in the web version.
So this is how it works. Open a chat or compose a new message and click the “+” icon on the left. The icon or setting may change in future updates, but the main idea is to click the Share button. You should see a location sharing option. Depending on your Android version or UI, the placement of the location tab may be different. But the menu remains the same.
7. Share location on iPhone with iMessage
iMessages is often confusing for two reasons: first, it works, the recipient must have macOS or an iPhone OR iPad to use iMessages, and second, it works both on the web and on the SMS gateway, depending on whether which is more reliable at the moment.
Now you can only share location using iMessages on iPhone and iPad, but not on Mac. But the recipient can receive messages on all three devices. This is how it works.
Open the iMessage app and select the name of the contract to which you want to send your location. If you’ve never sent them a message before, you’ll need to know their email address (used for Apple ID) or the phone number they signed up for iMessage with.
Then tap the Maps icon that appears in the sharing menu just above your keyboard. It will search for your location on Maps and you can directly press the submit button to share your current location with your contact. A similar exchange can be done using Google Maps. Just tap on the Google Maps icon instead of the native Maps app.
Read: 7 Best Family Locator Apps for Android and iOS
Send GPS location to contacts
These are just a few simple ways you can tell someone your current location. This feature is most useful when someone wants to navigate to your location. Continuous location sharing has become commonplace given the safety of our friends and family. And when it comes to kids, some parental control apps can be very useful too.
Also read: How to spoof GPS location in Android.