Want to give your friends and family the ability to keep track of your whereabouts? Location sharing on your Android device helps you do just that.

With location sharing, you can send the current location of your device to selected people. They can then view your live location on a map, which updates as you move around.

There are many scenarios where this location sharing comes in handy. Let's look at some of the popular ways for you to start sharing your location on your Android device.

1. Share Your Location Using Trusted Contacts

Trusted Contacts is an app by Google that helps you share your phone’s location in various ways. Because of all the features it offers, it's a great overall pick for your location-sharing needs.

This app helps your trusted contacts find your location even when you can’t accept their incoming location sharing request. This is a great feature to use when you’re in danger, so someone you trust can find where you are.

Here’s how to set up and start using Trusted Contacts on Android:

  1. Install the Trusted Contacts app and log into your Google account.
  2. Tap Turn On to enable location sharing in the app.
  3. Enter your phone number and verify it.
  4. Select the contacts that you’d like to share your location with.
  5. When you’re ready to start sharing your location, tap the orange icon at the bottom-right corner and select Alert specific contacts.
  6. Choose the contact you want to share your location with and tap Start Sharing at the bottom.
  7. Tap Stop at the top when you want to stop sharing your location.

Download: Trusted Contacts for Android (Free)

2. Share Your Location Using Google Maps

In addition to getting directions, you can also use Google Maps to share your live location. This feature is built into the app, but you might not be aware of it.

With this feature, you can send your live location to Google users as well as non-Google users. We'll look at how to do both.

Download: Google Maps for Android (Free)

Share Your Location With Someone Who Has a Google Account

For people who have a Google account, you can simply tap their name in your contacts list to start sending your location data.

Here’s how you do that in Google Maps:

  1. Launch Google Maps, tap your profile icon at the top, and choose Location sharing.
  2. Tap Share location on the resulting screen.
  3. Select the Google contacts that you want to share your location with, then tap Share.
  4. Your selected contact should now be able to view your live location.
  5. To disable location sharing, tap the Stop button in Google Maps.

Share Your Location With Someone Who Doesn’t Have a Google Account

If the person you want to share your location with doesn’t have a Google account, you can still send your location data to them using a link.

Google Maps lets you generate a link that anyone can click on to view your live location. This link expires after your predefined time elapses. You can generate a link for your live location as follows:

  1. Open Google Maps, tap the profile icon, and choose Location sharing.
  2. Tap Share location.
  3. You’ll see an option that says Copy to clipboard. Tap this option to copy a link to your phone’s clipboard.
  4. Send the link to the person that wants to access your location. When they click this link, they can view your live location on a map.
  5. When you don’t want to share your location any more, tap Sharing via link and select Stop in Google Maps. This will disable location sharing in the app.

3. Send Your Location Using WhatsApp

WhatsApp is the preferred method of communication for many. If you use this app for all your chats, you might want to use it to share your location data too.

Related: 9 Essential WhatsApp Tips and Tricks You Should Know

WhatsApp has an option for sharing your current location with your contacts. This is located right on your chat screen, so you don’t need to mess with any settings in the app.

Here’s how you quickly start sharing your location with someone on WhatsApp:

  1. Open the conversation with the person or group that you want to share your location with.
  2. Tap the attachment icon at the bottom and choose Location.
  3. Select Share live location and tap Continue.
  4. Choose the duration for which you want to share your location and tap the Submit button.
  5. Your recipient will receive a message in WhatsApp with your location data. They can tap on this message to see where you are.
  6. To stop sharing your location, tap the Stop sharing option in your WhatsApp.

Download: WhatsApp for Android (Free)

4. Send Your Current Location Using Telegram

Telegram’s approach to sending your live location is similar to how WhatsApp does it. You need to select the recipient and the time period for which you want to share the location, then you’re good to go.

Here’s how you do that:

  1. Open Telegram to the conversation with the person or group you want to share your location with.
  2. Tap the attachment icon at the bottom and select Location.
  3. Select Send my current location to start sharing your live location.
  4. If you’re only looking to share your location for a specified time, tap the option that says Share My Live Location for and choose the time period.

Download: Telegram for Android (Free)

Let Your Loved Ones Know Where You Are

With the location sharing feature on your Android device, your friends and family will always know where you are. They can even track your movements when you're moving from one place to another.

And if you ever find yourself in a situation where you can’t manually share your location, apps like Trusted Contacts automatically share your location with trusted people. This ensures someone can reach you when you’re in danger.

This isn't the only use of your phone's location functionality: you can actually locate your lost Android device as well, if you lose it or someone steals it from you.