Google Maps Brings Real-Time Location Sharing on Android, iOS

 Google Maps Brings Real-Time Location Sharing on Android, iOS

With the Location Sharing feature on Google Maps, you can choose who can access your location details and for how long. Location-sharing apps like Life360 are an easy way to keep tabs on where your family is, but if you're an Android user, seeing where friends and family are just got a little easier. Messaging apps like WhatsApp, Signal and others have long had an option to share your location with your contacts. It's a quick way to let your friends and family know where you are or send them your live location to help them navigate. Now, Google is also bringing real-time location sharing natively on the Maps app on Android, iOS, and PC. Google users can share their live location with their contacts via the Location Sharing option in Maps.

In the latest version of the Contacts app, Google has quietly enabled the ability to let someone see your exact location in real-time via Google Maps. It's worth noting that this isn't a new feature itself, as the ability to share your location through Google Maps has been around for a while. But the new addition to Contacts is more convenient since if you're headed to call or text someone, you can do that and see where they are in one place. With the Location Sharing feature on Google Maps, there are also a few nifty additions to normal live location sharing present on messaging apps. For example, with Google Maps Location Sharing, people you share your location with can also see your device's battery power and if it's charging. And you can also share your estimated time of arrival if you're navigating to a destination.

According to Google's support page on Location Sharing, the feature also works when Location History is turned off in Maps. The feature works pretty much the same way on Android and iOS. To start sharing your location, head to the Google Maps app on your Android device, iPhone or iPad, tap the profile icon on the top right, and select Location Sharing. You will then get an option to choose how long you want to share your location, along with a list of Google contacts you can share your location with. You can tap the profile of a contact and select Share.

To share you location outside Google contacts, you can select More options in the Location Sharing menu and share the link for your real-time location via other messaging apps like WhatsApp and iMessage. To stop sharing your location, you can tap the profile of the person you're sharing your location with and select Stop. You can also share your estimated time of arrival (ETA) with a contact while navigating to a destination on Google Maps. To do so, open Maps, set a destination, and start navigation. Then, tap More and select Share trip progress to share your route with a contact. Location sharing automatically stops when you reach your destination or when you stop navigation. Last month, Google Maps showcased features like Live view walking, Lens in Maps, fuel efficient routing, address descriptors, local trains support. 

There are a couple of things you'll need to do to start sharing your location though. First, you'll need to have the other person's Gmail saved to their contact card in your account. Second, the person showing their location will need to have location sharing turned on in Google Maps. To enable location sharing in Maps, just head to the app, tap the profile picture on the top right, and then tap location sharing and new share. There will be an option to share your location for a set amount of time, or until the setting is turned off. If those two conditions are met, you'll see a small Google Maps module on that person's contact card in your phone under the options to call or text them. Tapping the module pulls up a map of where they are now. You'll also have the option to get directions to where they are or receive an alert when they reach your location.

The latest version of Contacts -- version 4.22.37.586680692 -- is required for the new feature. To see what version you have, long hold on the Contacts app, tap app info, and then scroll all the way to the bottom. If you don't have the latest version, head to the Google Play Store and search for it. While Google Contacts is the default option for all Pixel devices, it can be downloaded by anyone with access to Google Play, meaning any Android device can access this new feature.