Whether you’re visiting a friend for the first time or meeting up with a family member in the city, a little navigational help can go a long way. Sometimes you need to go beyond sharing a specific address and share your location with someone for an extended period. There are several easy ways to share your location using your smartphone. Here’s how.
Updated July 2026: I refreshed the steps outlined to make sure they work and added new screenshots to illustrate.
How to Share Your Location Using Google Maps
There’s an upside to Google tracking you through your phone: It’s easy to share your location with friends and family, especially since it’s the most popular mapping app in the world. There’s a simple method built into Google Maps, and it works on both Android and iOS devices.
Steps:
- Open the Google Maps app (Android, iOS).
- Tap your profile picture or initials at the top right. Sign in to your Google account if you haven’t already.
- Tap Location sharing and then Share location or New share.
- Select how long you want to share your location.
- Choose the people you want to share your location with (you’ll need to give Google Maps access to your contacts). You can share with someone in your contacts if you have added their Gmail address. You can also share your location directly with specific apps.
- If you want to share with someone who doesn’t have a Google account, scroll to the right on the bottom row of apps and tap Copy to, then Share to get a link you can paste into an email or message. On an iPhone, tap More options to send the link through iMessage or another app, or select Copy to get a link.
You can view the list of people you’re sharing your location with on the same Location sharing tab, and you can see their profile picture on the map if they are also sharing their location with you. To stop sharing or to get directions to their location, tap on the profile picture or their name listed at the bottom.
How to Share Your Location Using Find My
If you and the people you want to share your location with are using an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch, then the Find My app is the easiest way to do it. Here’s how:
- Open the Find My app and select the People tab.
- Tap on a person and scroll down to Share My Location. To add people, tap the plus icon and enter the name or number of the person you want to share your location with, then tap the checkmark at the top right.
- Choose how long you want to share your location: For One Hour, Until End of Day, or Indefinitely.
You can stop sharing your location on the same People tab by tapping on the relevant person and selecting Stop Sharing My Location. You can quickly stop sharing with everyone by selecting the Me tab and turning off Share My Location.
How to Share Your Location Using Facebook Messenger
If you’re already chatting with the person or group you want to send your location to in Facebook’s popular Messenger app, you can share your location right there without leaving it. This works on Android and iOS.
- Open Messenger and select the relevant conversation with the person or people you want to share your location with.
- Tap the More icon (plus) at the bottom left, then the Location icon (arrow).
- You’ll be prompted to grant the Messenger app location permissions.
- Tap Start sharing live location, or if you’d rather share a static point, search for it in the search bar or tap the location pin at the bottom right and move the map to set it where you want, then tap Send location.
- If you choose to share your live location, it’s shared for one hour, and you’ll see the option to Stop Sharing with a countdown clock next to it.
How to Share Your Location Using WhatsApp
If the person or people you want to share with use WhatsApp, it’s easy to share your location with them. This is available on both Android and iOS.
- Open WhatsApp and select the Chats tab.
- Choose the person or group you want to share with.
- On an iPhone, tap the plus icon at the bottom left. On an Android phone, tap the paperclip icon at the bottom right.
- Select Location. You may need to tap Proceed and Allow to give WhatsApp access to your location data.
- Tap Send Your Current Location for a snapshot of where you are now, or Share Live Location to share your real-time location as you move around for the period you specify (from 15 minutes up to 8 hours).
How to Use Emergency SOS on an iPhone
Apple’s iPhone has a feature called Emergency SOS. When activated, it sends a text message and shares your location with your emergency contacts.
- Start by opening the Health app and tapping your profile picture, then Medical ID. Scroll to Emergency Contacts and tap Add or Edit, then Add Emergency Contact.
- To trigger Emergency SOS, hold down the power button and one of the volume buttons, or if you’re using an iPhone 7 or older, quickly press the power button 5 times.
- Drag the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services. It will also trigger the text message and location sharing with your emergency contacts.
It’s a good idea to practice this once you set it up (and give your emergency contacts a heads-up) so you know exactly how it works.
How to Use Emergency Sharing on Android
The emergency options for sharing your location vary by manufacturer on Android phones, but you can generally hold down the power button to access emergency information or an emergency mode.
On most Android phones, including Google Pixel phones, you can:
- Go to Settings, Location, Location Services, and make sure Emergency Location Service is toggled on. Where supported, this will share your location with emergency services when you call or text an emergency number.
- Go to Settings, Safety and Emergency. You can add Emergency contacts here and configure Emergency SOS. You can toggle on the option to Share information with emergency contacts to share your real-time location when you trigger Emergency SOS.
You should check who you’re sharing your location with every so often. If you’re sharing your location regularly for safety reasons, we recommend reading our guide to the Best Personal Safety Alarms.
