Thanks to Apple Maps, Google Maps and any number of other mapping apps, it’s easy enough to pinpoint your location. But, what in case if you want to share your whereabouts with someone, like your contacts?
Imagine these situations: your car has broken down on the side of the road, or your kid needs a ride home from somewhere and doesn’t know the address. Maybe you got separated from your caravan during a road trip and need to regroup. Whatever is the case, it would be convenient if your iPhone had a quick and easy location-sharing option.
With the arrival of iOS 8, it became possible. It’s quite simple to use and here’s how to share your location with other iOS users:
Step 1: Open Messages and create a new message to the person you want to be able to find you. (Or just open an existing thread if you have one.)
Step 2: Tap the Details button in the upper-right corner.
Step 3: In the Location section, you’ll see two options. Tap one of them.
Which one? Send My Current Location takes a GPS snapshot of your whereabouts, then delivers it in map form to the recipient. That person can bring up that map, tap the little blue “i” for additional info and options, and even tap Directions to Here for immediate routing.
Share My Location works a little differently. Instead of a onetime snapshot, this enables real-time location sharing for one hour, until the end of the day, or indefinitely. That’s helpful if you know you’re going to be moving around and still want a friend or family member to be able to keep tabs on you. It will affect your battery so make sure you have a charger with you.
If you want to end this location sharing early, tap Details again and then tap Stop Sharing My Location.