Share your location on iPhone or Android.
Revealing your internet location to anyone else sounds like an invasion of your privacy. However, it can be useful in a number of situations.
Perhaps you are dating a friend and cannot describe your exact location in words. Sending them a pin showing your location will save you time and effort to find each other. Perhaps you want your coworker to know that you are stuck in traffic rather than oversleeping an important meeting you are having together.
If you find yourself in this situation, here’s how to share your location on Android.
Share Your Location on Android Using Google Maps
The easiest way to share your location on Android is by using Google Maps. The app has a feature called Location Sharing that allows you to share the location of your Android device with your contacts. You can choose how long your location will be displayed and turn it off at any time.
To share your location using Google Maps, follow these steps.
- Open Google Maps on your smartphone.
- In the upper left corner of the screen, find three horizontal lines, and open the menu.
- From the menu, select Share Location.
- On the next screen, select Share Location.
- Choose how long to show your location. You can start in 15 minutes, or choose the option to keep your geodata available until you disable this feature.
- Select the person you want to share your location with from the suggested contacts on the same screen and click Share.
- If the person you want to share your location with is not in the suggested contact list, select More. You can search your contacts by name, phone number, or email address. Add one or more contacts with whom you want to share your location, then select Share.
- If you want to share your location with multiple contacts at the same time, select New Sharing and add them from your contacts.
You can turn off the transfer of geodata to Google Maps at any time. To do this, select the contact with whom you are currently sharing your location and press Stop. On the same screen, you can also ask your contact to share their location with you by selecting Request.
Share your location by link
Google Maps allows you to share your location with people who have a Google account, as well as those who don’t. To share your location with someone who doesn’t have a Google account, follow these steps.
- Open Google Maps and select Share Location from the menu.
- At the bottom of the screen, you will find the Copy to Clipboard option. By choosing this option, you enable the transmission of geolocation by reference. You can send the link to anyone who wants to know your location. When they click on the link, they will see your current location on a map.
If you don’t want anyone to see your location anymore, select Share via the link and then Stop to turn off geodata sharing.
Send Your Location via Messaging App
Today, every social media platform allows location sharing in one form or another. However, giving your Facebook friends or Instagram followers access to your exact location is not a good idea, given that some of them are completely unfamiliar. However, your messaging app is a whole different story. Especially if you are using a secure messaging app like Telegram.
How to share your location on Telegram
To share your location with your Telegram contacts, follow these steps.
- Open Telegram and find a chat with the person you want to share your location with.
- In the message window, find the attachment icon and select Location.
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Select Send My Current Location.
- You can also select “Share my current location” to specify how long the contact will receive your current location: 15 minutes, 1 hour, or 8 hours. Select Share to confirm.
How to share your location on WhatsApp
WhatsApp may lack security features such as Telegram, but this is the preferred method of communication for many. To share your current location on WhatsApp, follow these steps.
- Open WhatsApp and find the conversation with the person you want to send your location to.
- In the message window, find the attachment icon and select Location.
- WhatsApp will ask you for permission to access your location.
- Select Share Current Location. Then select “Continue” to confirm.
- In WhatsApp, you can also choose how long the contact will see your current location (from 15 minutes to 8 hours) and add a comment to your location pin before sending it.
Use a Dedicated Location-Sharing App
Another option you can use to share your location on Android is a dedicated third-party data sharing app. One of the advantages of this app is that you can keep its privacy by inviting only your friends and family to join it.
This removes the risk of accidentally giving your location to the wrong person on your contact list. On the other hand, this is another application that you need to download and install.
If you don’t mind carving out space on your smartphone for a data-sharing app, try Glympse. Glympse is a free app that lets you share your current location with one or more users. You can link it to other social media accounts to import your contacts or use your phone’s contact list to send location tags.
One cool feature of Glympse is the ability to create events and invite multiple people to them to see how many people have come and if anyone is late.
Let Your Loved Ones Know Where You Are
Location sharing is a great way to keep an eye on your friends and family at all times, whether you’re doing it for fun or safety. All that’s left is to choose the most convenient way and start sharing your location using your Android device.
Have you ever had to share your current location? What tools do you use to share your location with other people? Share your experience with geolocation in the comments section below.
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