6 Easy Ways to Share Your Location From Your Phone

Whether you are visiting a friend for the first time or meeting a family member in town, a little navigation aid could come in handy. Sometimes you want to go further than sharing a specific location and need to share your location with someone for a extended period. Well, there are several easy ways to share your location using your smartphone. Here’s how.

Updated July 2026: I’ve updated the steps outlined to make sure they work and added new screenshots to illustrate.

How to Share Your Location Using Google Maps

There is an advantage to Google tracks you via 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 is a simple method built into Google Maps and it works on both Android and iOS devices.

1. Open the Google Maps app (Android, iOS).
2. Tap your profile photo or initials at the top right. Sign in to your Google account if you haven’t already.
3. Faucet Location sharing And Share location Or New share.
4. Select how long you want to share your location.
5. Choose who you want to share your location with (you may need to allow Google Maps to access your contacts here). You can share your location with anyone in your contacts, as long as they have added their Gmail address. You can also share your location directly with specific apps.
6. If you want to share with someone who doesn’t have a Google account, scroll right in the bottom row of apps and tap Copy to and then Share for a link you can paste into an email or message. On an iPhone, you can tap More options to send the link via iMessage, another app, or select Copy to get a link.

You can consult the list of people with whom you share your location on this same site. Location sharing and you will see their profile picture on the map if they also share their location with you. To stop sharing or get directions to their location, tap 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 use a iPhone, iPador iPod Touch, the Find My app is the easiest way to do this. Here’s how to do it:

1. Open the Find My app and choose the People tongue.
2. Tap a person and scroll 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, tap the check mark at the top right.
3. Choose how long you want to share your location: For an hour, Until the end of the dayOr Indefinitely.

You can stop sharing your location on the same People by tapping on the person concerned and choosing Stop sharing my location. You can quickly stop sharing with everyone by selecting the icon Me tab and turn 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 directly without leaving it. It works on Android And iOS.

1. Open Messenger and select the relevant conversation with the person(s) you want to share your location with.
2. Press the Possibilities (plus) icon at the bottom left, then the icon Location icon (arrow).
3. You may be asked to grant Messenger app location privileges.
4. Faucet Start sharing your live location or if you prefer to share a static point, search for it in the search bar or tap the location pin at the bottom right and drag the map to place it where you want, then tap Send location.
5. When you choose to share your live location, it will be shared for an hour and you will see the option to Stop sharing with a countdown next to it.

How to share your location using WhatsApp

If the person(s) you want to share with uses WhatsApp, it’s easy to share your location with them. This is available on both Android And iOS.

1. Open WhatsApp and select the Discussions tongue.
2. Choose the person or group you want to share with.
3. On an iPhone, tap the plus icon at the bottom left. On an Android phone, tap the paperclip icon at the bottom right.
4. Choose Location. You may need to press Continue And Allow to give WhatsApp access to your location data.
5. Click Send your current location for a snapshot of where you are currently, or Share live location to share your real-time location while traveling for the time period you specify (15 minutes to 8 hours).

How to use Emergency SOS on an iPhone

Apple’s iPhone has a feature called Emergency SOS. When triggered, it sends a text message and shares your location with your emergency contacts.

1. Start by opening the Health app and tapping your profile picture, then Medical ID card and scroll to Emergency Contacts and press Add Or To modify SO Add an emergency contact.
2. To activate Emergency SOS, press and hold the power button and either volume button, or if you’re using an iPhone 7 or earlier, quickly press the power button five times.
3. Drag the Emergency SOS slider to call emergency services. This will also trigger text messaging and location sharing with your emergency contacts.

It might be a good idea to try this when you set it up (and let your emergency contacts know) so you know exactly how it works.

How to Use Emergency Share on Android

Emergency options for sharing your location differ from manufacturer to manufacturer with Android Phonesbut you can usually hold the power button to access emergency information or an emergency mode.

On most Android phones, including Google Pixel phones, you can:

1. Go to Settings, Location, Location Servicesand make sure that Emergency Locator Service is activated. When supported, this will share your location with emergency services when you call or text an emergency number.
2. Go to Settings, Safety and emergency. You can add Emergency Contacts here and configure Emergency SOS. You can enable the option to Share information with emergency contacts to share your location in real time when you trigger an emergency SOS.

Remember to check from time to time who you are sharing your location with. If you regularly share your location for security reasons, you may want to read our guide on Best Personal Security Alarms.

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