Update friends and family about your whereabouts
Whether you’re trying to meetup with someone or simply keeping others informed about your whereabouts, the ability to share your location on your iPhone can be incredibly useful.
In this article, we’ll walk you through the simple process of sharing your location using iMessage.
How to share your iPhone location
Provided you use the iMessage app, Apple makes it easy to share your location with others:
1. Find someone you’d like to share location with
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Open the iMessage app on your iPhone.
Choose an existing conversation with the person you want to share your location with, or start a new one by tapping the pencil icon in the top-right corner and selecting the contact. If it’s the first time you’re contacting them, you can just enter a phone number if you’d prefer.
2. Open the contact details screen
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Select the conversation, then tap their name at the top of the screen. This will take you to the contact details screen.
3. Turn on ‘Share My Location’
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From there, you should see a button labelled ‘Share My Location’. Tap on it.
4. Choose how long to share location for
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A menu will pop up with options as to how long you’d like to share your location for. Choose between one hour, until the end of the day or indefinitely (until you turn it off manually).
5. Location sharing begins
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After you tap the confirmation message to confirm, location sharing will begin. The recipient will receive a notification with details of your location.
The contact screen will look like the above, including the option to ‘Stop Sharing My Location’ at any time.
Sharing your location on an iPhone is a straightforward process that can enhance your coordination with others. There are things you can do to maximise your privacy on an iPhone, but it’s important to only share location with contacts you trust.
Keep in mind that your privacy and security are paramount, so ensure that you only share your location with trusted contacts.
If you don’t use iMessage, you can also share your location on third-party apps such as WhatsApp. You may prefer to use Google Maps, particularly if you’re on an Android phone.