There are several ways you can see your friends’ locations on a map on your phone. The most common ways are using a location sharing app or enabling location sharing on an existing social media platform. With the proliferation of smartphones that have GPS capabilities, location sharing has become a standard feature that allows you to see where your friends and family are in real time. This can be useful for coordination and meeting up, as well as for safety reasons. In this article, we will look at the main ways you can go about sharing locations with friends.
Using a Dedicated Location Sharing App
Perhaps the easiest way to share locations with friends is to use an app specifically designed for location sharing. There are many to choose from, but some of the most popular include:
- Find My Friends – This app comes pre-installed on iOS devices and makes sharing locations with friends easy. You can control exactly which friends can see your location and when. It also allows your friends to share their locations with you.
- Life360 – This app has advanced features like crash detection and emergency assistance. You can create “Circles” of family and friends and share real-time locations within that group. It sends notifications when members arrive or leave certain places.
- Glympse – With this app you temporarily share your location with others for a set period of time. It doesn’t require friend invites and has options for sharing over text or email as well.
- WhatsApp – The popular chat app allows location sharing through its chat function. You can send your current location or share your live location for a set amount of time.
The advantage of using one of these dedicated apps is that they make location sharing simple and straightforward. In just a few taps you can send or receive locations and see friends displayed right on a map. Some key features to look for include:
- Real-time updating of locations
- Control over length of time locations are shared
- Privacy settings to restrict who can see locations
- Battery-saving settings
- Group location sharing
- Ability to share locations externally via messaging
So if you and your friends or family are specifically looking to share locations, a dedicated app designed for that purpose can be the easiest method.
Enable Location Sharing on Social Media Apps
Many popular social media platforms have built-in location sharing capabilities as well. You likely already have accounts set up with your friends on apps like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or Twitter, so you can simply enable location services on those apps to see your friends. Here are some ways to use social media for location sharing:
On Facebook’s mobile app you can enable location sharing by going to Settings & Privacy -> Location Services. Turn on location access and choose from options like continually sharing your location, sharing your location when posting, and location history. Friends also have to enable location services. You can then see friend locations from the Nearby Friends feature under the Friends tab.
In Instagram you can share your location when posting photos and videos. Friends can also share their location in their posts and stories. To see all your friends’ recent locations, go to the search tab and select Places. This will show geographic tags on all your friends’ recent posts.
Snapchat
On Snapchat, you can share your location with friends by posting it on your Snap Map. To access this, go to your profile on the app and tap the location pin icon. Search for friends and tap their Bitmoji to view their location. Friends will only appear on the map if they have location services enabled.
Twitter also gives you the option to tag your precise location when tweeting. You can toggle location tagging on in your tweet composer settings. Friends can then see your city-level location on your profile. However, Twitter does not offer live location sharing capabilities.
The benefit of using existing social media for location sharing is leveraging platforms you and your friends already use daily. The downside is that location sharing capabilities may not be as robust as dedicated apps designed solely for that purpose. But social media can provide an easy starting point if you want casual location access to friends.
Consider Privacy and Safety
When enabling location sharing with apps and social media, it’s important to consider privacy and safety. While there are many legitimate reasons to share your location with trusted friends and family, it can also expose you to risks like stalking, burglary, and unwanted tracking. Here are some tips for location sharing safely:
- Only share your location with trusted friends and be selective about who can view it.
- Disable background location access when not actively using a location sharing service.
- Set time limits for how long your location can be seen.
- Avoid publicly broadcasting location on social media.
- Use privacy zones and disable location tagging in sensitive areas.
- Frequently check your app privacy settings and update as needed.
- Be aware of the privacy policies of apps you use.
- Turn off location services completely when not in use.
It’s also important that friends you share locations with understand proper privacy protocols like not sharing your location with others without consent. Discuss mutual expectations for location sharing within your circles.
Other Methods for Location Sharing
In addition to dedicated apps and social media platforms, there are a few other ways you can go about viewing a friend’s location:
Find My iPhone
The Find My iPhone app shows locations of Apple devices associated with your iCloud account. If you and a friend are linked under Family Sharing, you can view each other’s locations there. Just open the app and select your friend’s device to see where it is on the map.
Google Maps
Google Maps gives you the option to share your location from the app and send it to a friend. You can share either your current location or your location over a set time frame. Friends you share with can open the location in Google Maps on their device.
Messaging Apps
Many messaging apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger allow you to send your live location or share your location for a period of time. This works similar to location sharing apps but is done directly in an existing messaging thread.
Wearable Devices
If you and friends use smart watches or fitness trackers like Apple Watch or Fitbit, some models allow location sharing. Check the accompanying apps for options to share or view locations. For example, Apple Watch lets you share locations for a time period or indefinitely.
Conclusion
Location sharing can be a fun and useful way to stay in touch and coordinate meet ups with friends. There are now a variety of options through dedicated apps, social media, and communication platforms. When enabling location access, be sure to adjust privacy settings appropriately and share with trusted connections. With smart precautions, location sharing can provide peace of mind and convenience when making plans within your social circles. Discuss expectations with friends and configure apps to meet your specific needs for sharing locations.