The days of big paper maps are long gone. Smartphones have the ability to survey the entire planet with downloaded or online maps.
Getting around without getting lost has never been easier. However, it can be difficult to share your exact location with friends and family who are trying to find you.
iPhone users can share their current location through the Home apps Messages, Maps, and Find My, as well as Google Maps. While Apple makes it easy to share locations with other iPhone users, there are also multiple ways to send your location to someone using an Android device.
Let’s start with the Messages app, open a conversation and start typing the recipient’s name or icon at the top. From there, you can easily find Send my current location feature in the next window. A map tile of your location will be inserted into your conversation for that person.
If the latter is using an iPhone, an information screen will open with the option to get directions using Apple Maps. On an Android device, a link provides the same location information, but in a browser.
If you want to share your location for a longer period of time:
- In your message conversation, tap your recipient’s name or picture. Tap Share location. Choose from Share for an hour, Share until the end of the day, or Share forever (which stays active until you turn sharing off). They’ll get a notification that you’re sharing your location with them, and you’ll be added to their Find My app.
Note that this only works with other iPhone users.
Another quick trick is to write “My address is” in the Messages app to send the recipient your card’s address in Contacts without typing it out completely.
Apple
The Find Me app
search app
Similar to finding your devices, the Find My app helps find the location of other iPhone users. Proceed as follows:
- From your home screen, tap the Find My app. Tap People in the bottom left, then tap Start Location Sharing. In this case, a list of names is displayed. Touch the names to add them.
- Tap the + icon at the top of the contacts list to add people. After adding people, tap Send in the top right.
- Note that only your contacts with an iPhone or email address will be shown.
- Choose to share your location for an hour, all day, or indefinitely. If you share your location with someone, that person has the option to share their location as well.
You’ll get a pop-up saying you’ve started sharing your location, and your recipient will receive a notification that you’ve shared your location with them and your information will appear in their Find My app .
Sharing satellite positions
iPhone 14 or iPhone 14 Pro owners with iOS 16.1 or later have the option to share their location via satellite outside of areas without cellular and Wi-Fi coverage. You can only share your satellite location with people who you’ve already shared your location with in Find My before you’re in an area with no cell service or Wi-Fi coverage.
You can update your satellite position every 15 minutes. The procedure is well explained here: https://support.apple.com/fr-fr/guide/iphone/iph2aac8ae20/ios.
family sharing
Family Sharing can be of great interest to parents who have children with iPhones. It’s also another way to let your family know where you are. The configuration varies depending on the iOS system version of your iPhone or macOS if you are using your Apple computer. More information here: https://support.apple.com/fr-ca/HT201088.
Go to Settings, then press the “Apple ID, iCloud+, Media, and Purchases” button at the very top. Then tap “Family Sharing” and then tap “Continue” (if this is your first time).
Apple
Screenshot of Family Sharing feature
From the list, select the friends or family you want to use Family Sharing with (note that this service only works with other iPhones).
Tap Location Sharing (blue arrow) to send. Your recipients will receive an SMS invitation to join Family Sharing. Follow the onscreen instructions to set up parental controls, location sharing, and more.
With Google Maps
First you need to be signed in to your Google account to be able to send your location with Google Maps.
Open the Google Maps app, tap your account picture, and then tap location sharing. After the short explanation, tap on “Share location”.
From there you can choose to share it with your contacts from Google by choosing a duration and the icon of the person you want to share with. Your recipient will receive a notification from Google Maps (provided they have Google Maps installed and notifications are enabled for that app). You will also receive an email with a link to view your location on Google Maps.
A pop-up will appear asking if you want to share with a link. Tap Share.
Select from the suggested contacts (the small icon at the bottom right of each contact’s image indicates which method the link will be sent).
Your contact will receive a link via the method you have chosen. When they touch the link, they will be taken to the Google Maps app (if installed) or to Google Maps in the browser.
Information about the privacy of this Apple service
“Like all Apple products, the Find My app is designed to give you full control over your data. Apple doesn’t know the location of your device until you locate it, mark it as lost, or turn on Send Last Location. This data is encrypted on Apple’s servers and is never retained for more than 24 hours. When the Locate network is used, all data remains confidential, including for Apple.”