Sharing your live location on iPhone with friends and family can be useful in many situations. Whether meeting up somewhere, letting loved ones know you got home safe, or just staying connected on a trip, live location sharing is a great iPhone feature. Here’s a guide to everything you need to know about sharing live location on iPhone.
Overview of Live Location Sharing on iPhone
Live location sharing allows you to temporarily share your real-time location with selected contacts. You can choose how long you want to share (anywhere from 15 minutes up to 3 days) and your location updates automatically until the time expires. It’s an easy way to let people know where you are without having to constantly text or call.
The great thing about live location sharing on iPhone is that it’s built right into Messages and Find My. So you don’t need to download any additional apps to use it. You can start sharing in just a couple taps.
Your location isn’t being shared publicly or posted online anywhere. The only people who can view your live location are the individual contacts you choose to share it with through Messages or Find My.
Some key things to note about live location sharing on iPhone:
- Battery use increases while sharing since your location is being actively monitored and updated.
- Location access must be enabled for the Find My and Messages apps in Settings.
- Ending location sharing early – You can stop broadcasting your location at any time, even before the timer expires.
- Works between iOS/iPadOS devices using Find My or Messages. Can also share with non-Apple devices via Messages.
Sharing Your Location Via Messages
The easiest way to quickly share live location with an individual contact is directly in the Messages app. Here’s how to do it:
- Open the Messages app and select a conversation with the contact you want to share with.
- Tap the More button (labeled with three dots).
- Select Send My Current Location or Share My Location.
- Choose how long you want to share your location: 15 minutes, 1 hour, or Until End of Day.
- Tap Send.
The person you’re sharing with will get a map view of your location that automatically updates until the time runs out. They can tap on it to see your location in other apps like Maps or Waze.
To stop sharing early, swipe left on the message with your location and tap Stop Sharing My Location.
Sharing Location Repeatedly in Messages
If there’s someone you want to regularly share your location with for safety or convenience, you can set up indefinitely repeating location sharing in Messages.
Instead of choosing 15 minutes, 1 hour, etc., select Share Indefinitely. You’ll have to confirm again that you really want indefinite sharing. The contact will now get your location until you manually stop it.
You can view and stop indefinite location sharing at any time by going to Messages > More > Contact Info > Share My Location.
Using Find My to Share Location
The Find My app also includes a live location sharing option called Share My Location. This is useful when you want to share with multiple people at once or share your location through iCloud.
Here’s how to share live location in Find My:
- Open the Find My app.
- Tap the Me tab at the bottom.
- Tap Share My Location.
- Select how long you want to share.
- Choose the method:
- Messages – Share via iMessage.
- Find My – Share your location through iCloud so it appears in their Find My app.
- Select the contacts to share with. You can share with multiple people at once using Find My.
- Tap Send/Share.
The process is very similar to sharing in Messages. The difference is the ability to share through iCloud with Find My. This makes it easy to share with multiple iOS/iPadOS contacts even if you don’t have an existing Messages conversation with them.
To stop sharing early, open the Find My app > Me tab > Stop Sharing My Location.
Knowing When Someone Shares Their Location With You
How do you know when someone has shared their live location with you? There are a couple ways to tell:
- Messages: You’ll receive a standard iMessage with a map showing their location. It will update with a new message each time their location refreshes.
- Find My: Open the Find My app. On the People tab you will see their profile under Share Location with the expiration time noted.
- Map notification: If they share through Find My, you may get a notification saying “[name] is sharing their location with you.” Opening it will launch Apple Maps showing you their current location.
Tapping on their shared location map gives you options like getting directions in Maps/Waze, sharing your ETA, and more. Very handy for meeting up!
Location Sharing Options & Customizations
There are a few settings and options you can tweak related to live location sharing functionality:
- Control notifications: Disable Find My notifications if you don’t want to be notified about location sharing updates. Go to Settings > Notifications > Find My.
- Location precision: Share your Precise or Approximate location. Approximate reduces battery usage but is less accurate. In Find My > Me > Share My Location.
- Notify when sharing stops: Opt to be notified if one of your shared locations expires or is turned off. Go to Settings > Notifications > Find My > Notify When Sharing Stops.
- Temporary disable: Quickly pause all temporary location sharing by toggling Share My Location to Off in Find My > Me. Resume sharing by toggling back On.
Take a look at the Find My and Messages settings to see what you can customize.
Using Live Location Sharing
Live location sharing on iPhone is great for lots of real life scenarios. Here are some examples:
- Meeting up with a friend at an event or location downtown
- Letting your spouse/family know you’re working late
- Sharing your commute home for safety
- Quickly coordinate picking up kids from school
- Send your location to an emergency contact if traveling alone
- Temporary location sharing on a first date
- Keep track of older family members if they enable sharing
- Coordinate among friends at a music festival
- Share your location on a long road trip
Basically any situation where temporarily broadcasting your real-time location is helpful. It provides convenience and peace of mind when coordinating meetups or staying connected with important contacts.
Privacy Considerations
Location sharing requires trusting the contacts you share with. Here are some privacy tips when using the live location sharing feature:
- Be selective about who you share with and for what duration
- Disable sharing promptly when no longer needed
- Don’t indefinitely share your daily routine/commute
- If uncomfortable, share approximate location instead of precise
- Use with trusted friends/family, not strangers
- Turn off Find My notifications if they become annoying
- Set Apple device passcodes to prevent access if lost or stolen
Also keep in mind your battery will drain faster while actively sharing. Overall though, use thoughtfully, location sharing can be extremely convenient and helpful for you, friends, and family.
Troubleshooting Problems
If you’re having issues getting live location sharing to work properly, here are some troubleshooting steps to try:
Location not updating
- Make sure Location Services are enabled for Find My and Messages. Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
- Location permissions may be restricted. Check notification or location access for Find My and Messages in iOS settings.
- Force quit and reopen the Find My or Messages apps.
- Toggle location sharing off and back on again.
- Restart your iPhone.
Can’t share location
- Update to the latest iOS/iPadOS software version.
- Check for any network connection issues or disabled wireless settings.
- Make sure Find My and Messages apps have location access enabled in Settings.
- Try resetting Network Settings under General management.
- Contact the person you’re sharing with to make sure their devices/software are compatible.
Location sharing ended early
- Check that you or the recipient didn’t manually stop sharing.
- Poor network connection may have interrupted the location signal.
- Your iPhone battery died while sharing.
- Software bug or crash ended sharing prematurely.
Following general troubleshooting steps like restarting devices, ensuring software is up-to-date, and checking network connections can help resolve many sharing issues.
Sharing Your Location on Android
Live location sharing isn’t limited only to iPhone. Many Android devices also include similar real-time location sharing features.
On Android, you can typically share live location using:
- Messages – Share real-time location through SMS or other messaging apps.
- Google Maps – Share ETA and trip progress.
- WhatsApp – Share through chat like on iPhone.
- Google Hangouts – See friends’ locations.
- Life360 – Share within circles of family/friends.
- Facebook Messenger – Share through FB messages.
The experience varies across Android devices and software versions. But most modern Android phones have some method of sharing live location. Always check your device and app settings to control sharing options.
Third party apps like Life360 and Glympse also support real-time location sharing across both iPhone and Android devices.
Sharing Your Location Without a Phone
In emergency situations or if you don’t have a phone, there are still options for sharing your live location and coordinating meetups.
Some options include:
- Apple Watch – Share through Find My app.
- Tablets – Share via Find My or Messages apps.
- AirTags – Can provide location updates when placed on keys or in bags.
- Garmin inReach – Satellite communicator devices for backcountry/wilderness use.
- SnapDragon – No-monthly-fee emergency beacons.
- SomeOnes – GPS tracking bracelets and locators for kids or elderly.
These devices can broadcast location without cellular service using long range radio, satellite, or other networks. But most do require some type of paired phone or subscription service.
In remote areas completely off-grid, you’ll need more specialized equipment like satellite communicators or emergency beacons.
Conclusion
Live location sharing provides an easy way to temporarily broadcast your real-time whereabouts to selected contacts. On iPhone, sharing options are built right into Messages and Find My.
Make sure to enable location access for these apps in Settings. Then start sharing with just a couple taps. Choose a duration and pick recipients in Messages or Find My.
Use sharing thoughtfully keeping privacy in mind. Disable promptly when finished. But used appropriately, it’s a convenient feature for meeting up, coordinating, and staying connected with important people in your life.