How to share your location on Android

Smartphones are invaluable tools for navigation and communication. If you’re exploring a new area, your phone can help you in more ways than one. You can use Maps on your phone to figure your way around while also sharing your location with friends and family to let them occasionally check in on you. Here are all the different ways in which you can share your location on Android, both permanently and temporarily.

How to share your location by using Google Maps

Google Maps offers comprehensive location-sharing options, so you can choose to share your live location with someone for a set duration or let them have access to your whereabouts on a more permanent and long-term basis. You can also request them to share their location back with you.

Further, you can set up geo-fenced alerts, so your well-wishers can receive notifications every time you enter or exit a specified area.

Google Maps also lets you share your trip progress, which is helpful if you’re driving to meet someone and don’t want to manually update them on your whereabouts. This is useful if you want to update someone on a specific trip only.

How to share live location on Google Maps temporarily or permanently

• Open the Google Maps app on your phone.
• Click on your profile picture in the top right corner.
• Click on Location Sharing.
• Click on the Share Location button on the next screen.
• You can set the duration you want to share your location (minimum of 15 minutes and maximum of 24 hours) or until you turn location sharing off (i.e. permanently until turned off).
• You can choose the medium through which you want to share your location. For a seamless experience, it is recommended to share it with your intended contact through Google Maps itself. If you choose other options, Maps will generate a link that is shared with the person, and anyone with the link will be able to see your live location for the duration you have set.
• Google Maps will prompt you to grant it permanent location access for background location sharing to work. You will need to set Maps’ location access to Allow all the time.

When you choose to share your location this way, the recipient has access to:

• Your name and photo, as set on your Google account.
• Your device’s recent location, even when you are not accessing a Google service in the foreground.
• Your device’s battery and charging status.
• Your arrival and departure time, if they add a Location Sharing notification.

How to set up geo-fenced alerts on Google Maps

Once someone has given you access to their location on Google Maps, you can set up alerts for when they enter or leave a specified area.

• Open the Google Maps app on your phone.
• Click on your profile picture in the top right corner.
• Click on Location Sharing.
• Tap on the profile of the person who shares their location with you.
• You will see a section for Notifications. Click on Add.
• Now, choose the location you want to geo-fence.
• Choose whether you want to be notified for arrival and for departure.
• Click Save.

You can add up to five Location Sharing notifications for each person who shares their location with you.

How to share trip progress on Google Maps

• Open Google Maps on your phone.
• Set a destination and click on the Start button to begin your trip.
• In the navigation screen, click on the ETA to slide up the panel.
• Click on Share ride progress and choose the recipient.
• Google Maps will begin sharing your location with the recipient. Sharing will stop automatically once you arrive at your set destination.

How to share your location by text message

You can share your location through simple SMS messages too, but there’s a caveat to it. The location that you share can be any point on the whole map and need not be your live location. As a result, the location does not auto-update or refresh, and the recipient will not be able to track your real-time live location.

But even with this caveat, there’s still a benefit to sharing location through a text message. The recipient does not need any specific software on their phone. They will receive a Google Maps URL that will open in the Maps app if the app is installed or open in a browser if Maps is not installed.

To share your location by text message through the Google Messages app, follow these steps:

• Open the Google Messages app on your phone.
• Click on the Bubble icon on the bottom right to start a new conversation, or you can search for an existing conversation.
• Once within the conversation, click on the Plus icon near the text field.
• On the panel that opens, click on Location.
• Google Messages will request Location permissions. Grant the permission.
• In the map screen, you will be defaulted onto your current location, which you can then send. Alternatively, you can also click anywhere on the map to place a pin.
• Click on the SMS button on the bottom right.
• Your selected location will be sent through SMS. As you can see, it is a Google Maps URL that will be easy for the recipient to open.

How to share your location by using Messenger

On Facebook’s Messenger app, you can share both static and live locations, as well as the location of any nearby place.

• Open Messenger on your phone.
• Open the chat you want to share your location in.
• Click on the four-dot app menu button on the left.
• Click on Location.
• You can either share your live location by clicking on Start Sharing Live Location for 60 min or share any other location by clicking on the pin icon to drop a pin. You can also use the search bar to find a place or an address.

How to share your location by using WhatsApp

Sharing location on WhatsApp is very popular in regions like India, where everyone uses the platform. Using an IM app lets you share not only static locations and live locations but also share it within groups. This way, multiple people can share their location with each other, and all locations from within a common chat will be displayed on the same map.

• Open WhatsApp on your phone.
• Open the chat you want to share your location in. This can either be an individual or a group chat.
• Click on the paperclip icon to add an attachment.
• Click on Location.
• You can either share your live location, your current location or send the location of any other place on the map.
• If you’re choosing to share your live location, you can choose to share it for 15 minutes, one hour, or 8 hours.
• Click on the green arrow button to send.

How to share your location by using Telegram

Telegram has a robust set of features, and one of them is the ability to share your static and live location, as well as the location of nearby places. Here’s how you can share your location on Telegram:

• Open Telegram on your phone.
• Open the chat you want to share your location in.
• Click on the paperclip icon to add an attachment.
• Click on Location.
• You can either share your live location, your current location or send the location of any other place on the map.
• If you’re choosing to share your live location, you can choose to share it for 15 minutes, one hour, or 8 hours.
• Click on Share to share your location.

Can you share location between iPhone and Android?

Yes, you can! All of the methods listed above allow sharing of location between iOS and Android in either direction. You only need to figure out which app works the best for you and the recipient and then follow the instructions for that app.

For sharing between iPhone and Android, we would recommend using an instant messaging app like Messenger or Telegram to share your location reliably. The other methods will also work, but we have greater confidence in these two apps.

FAQs