For those of us with iPhones, sharing our location with friends and family is simple. The Find My app (formerly Find My Friends) is your one-stop shop for tracking contacts, devices and items in your life. But on Android, there isn’t an obvious equivalent. You won’t find the “Share location” option when texting your friends on the Pixel, Galaxy, or OnePlus. but aIt turns out, Android’s Find My alternative may be more useful than Apple’s app.
When you want to share your location with a friend on Android, don’t use a third-party app. Use one of Google’s instead: Google Maps. Everyone’s favorite navigation app is the perfect solution for keeping track of your friends. The best part? It’s not platform-specific, so you can track your friends on Android And iPhone. You can also use Google Maps Location Sharing on a computer, since it’s tied to your Google Account.
The feature requires that your friend’s Gmail address is in your Google Contacts. On iPhone, you can also give Google Maps permission to your iOS Contacts app to find Gmail addresses. Require Gmail for Persistent, Indefinite Tracking, Although; IIf the contact in question doesn’t have Gmail, you can send them a tracking link, but that link will only work for 24 hours. It also requires that Google Maps has access to your location at all times. If you’ve enabled “Only allowed while in use” (Android) or “While using an app” (iOS), you’ll need to switch those options on from your phone’s location settings. Don’t worry too much though, as Google Maps will prompt you if you don’t have the right permissions enabled.
How to share your location with all your friends using Google Maps
To get started, start Google Maps, tap your profile in the top right, then select “Location Sharing.” Tap on “Share Location” and you will see the sharing location settings menu. Here, you can choose how long you want to share your location (as little as 15 minutes, or as long as 24 hours), but if you’re looking for a true Find My experience, set the “When until you turn it on”. Off.” This will allow you to continue sharing your location indefinitely, until you decide to end the relationship.
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Below this option, you’ll see all the Google Accounts that are in your Google Contacts. Tap the people you want to share with. If your non-Google contacts have Gmail addresses, tap “More” to see them (you’ll need to grant Gmail permission here if you haven’t already).
Once you have selected your contacts, hit “Share”. Google Maps will prompt you if you need to adjust any location permissions. Otherwise, you’re in! Your friends will receive your location, and will be able to see how far away you are from them, your specific address, and even your smartphone’s battery level. If you ever want to stop sharing your location, go to Go back to the Location Sharing settings, then tap on the contact from the list and select “Stop”.