Delete location sharing apps – How to share in the ones you use

January 25, 2025

By Kim Komando

Location sharing helps you worry less. Whether your friend’s late for dinner, your kid’s almost home or your partner’s on the way from the airport, it sure beats sending a bunch of texts back and forth.

The bad news is more and more location-sharing apps have been caught selling your data to third parties. You don’t need a separate app for location sharing; it’s baked right into the apps you already use.

🍎 Use an iPhone? Start here

Before we jump in, make sure your iPhone is updated. If it’s not, you might not see these settings, or they could be tucked away in other places. To update, go to Settings > General > Software Update. (Cue hold music.)

All right, now we’ll tell your phone it’s OK to share your location with certain folks. (We’ll get to the “who” and “how” in a second.) Hit Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services and toggle on Share My Location.

The easiest way to share your location is in a text. To request someone’s location or share your own, open Messages, then pick a text thread and tap the + icon in the bottom left. Scroll to Location and select one of these options:

• Share location: Tap Share in blue on the bottom right to pick the length of time you want the other person to see your location: For 1 hour, Until End of Day or Indefinitely. You’ll see a map. Hit the blue arrow on the right-hand side to send it like a regular text. If your recipient taps the icon showing minutes or hours, they’ll receive directions to your location using Apple Maps.
• Request location: Hit Request in gray on the bottom left. Press the blue arrow to send a text. From there, your recipient can choose to share their location with you.

What if you change your mind? Open the text chat, tap their name at the top, and choose Stop Sharing My Location. You’ll both get a notification.

📍 Checking in

One of my favorite iPhone safety features is Check In. It’s an easy way to automatically let a pal or family member know you made it to your destination safely, and it’s much better than trying to remember to text! This feature only works for people you’ve chatted with and who are in your contacts.

• Open a text, then tap the + icon in the bottom left and scroll to Check In.
• Choose how much data you want to share with your contact. Limited gives info about your battery and network signal; Full also shares your route and where your phone was last unlocked.

Wanna tweak this access later? Go to Settings > Messages > Data. After the text is generated, press Edit to change any settings. Then, pick When I arrive or After a timer.

• When I arrive: At the top left, choose a time you think you’ll be there. Press the Change button, enter your destination in the search bar, and select it from the list. You’ll see it pinned on a map. At the bottom of the screen, choose Small, Medium or Large to expand the circle around the pin. Now, when you enter that circle, the app “knows” you’ve arrived. Tap Done.
• After a timer: Set a clock for when you’ll arrive (like an hour) on the top right. Swipe up and down to change the hours and minutes, then hit Done. Pick if you’re Driving, taking another form of Transit or Walking. If you need a buffer, press Add Time to add 15 minutes, 30 minutes or even 1 hour to the timer. Hit Done, then tap the blue arrow on the right to send a text. Your contact will get notified when you Check In.

🛑 Tap Cancel Check In when the timer is finished to tell your recipient, “Look, I made it.” Just tap Details > Cancel Check In and confirm.

For your safety, if you don’t cancel after the timer ends, whoever has your ETA will get a critical notification. It’s like a little alarm telling them to check on you. They can call or see where you are on the map to verify nothing has happened.

🤖 Use an Android? This is all for you!

Every Android works a bit differently, but Google Maps is loaded with all the tools you need. Ready … set … let’s go!

First things first, you’ll need to log into your Google account and make sure your location-sharing recipient’s email address is in your Google Contacts. Once that’s done

• Open the Google Maps app on your phone.
• Tap your profile pic (top right) and hit Location sharing > New share.
• Pick how long you want to share your location using the clock icon on the left.
• Tap the profile of the person you want to share your location with, then hit Share.

🛑 To stop sharing, reopen Google Maps, tap your profile pic > Location sharing and select the recipient’s profile. Press Stop, and you’re done!

🗺️ Track your kid(s)

For tracking your kiddo, try Google Family Link. You’re still in the Google ecosystem with this one, and, yes, it’s free. Tap on the three lines (top left) and select Location. Pick your kid (or kids) and tap Turn on. It might take some time, so don’t panic if the app doesn’t spot them right away.

▶️ Let’s say you’d like to know when your kid gets home from school. You can set up a Family place, then turn on Location Accuracy or High Accuracy mode.

• Location label: This is just a custom name you give the place. Open the Google Family Link app and select your kid(s). Tap Location > Family places > New place. Enter the address and select it from the list. In the Location label text box, give it a name you’ll recognize and hit Done.
• Location accuracy: Go to the Family Link app > Location. Select your kiddo(s) and tap the three-dot icon in the top right for Location settings. Choose the device and turn on Location Accuracy or High Accuracy.

To set up a Family place, open the Family Link app, select your child or children, then tap Location > Family places. Choose the location and turn Arrive or Leaves on or off to enable tracking. You’ve got this!

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