---
title: "How to Share Your Location with Family (and How to Stop) | The Plain Manual"
description: "Sharing your location with family members can offer real peace of mind — knowing that your teenager arrived safely at a friend's house, or being able to"
---

# How to Share Your Location with Family (and How to Stop)

[Phones & Tablets](https://ajmm.org/category/phones-and-tablets/)

Sharing your location with family members can offer real peace of mind — knowing that your teenager arrived safely at a friend’s house, or being able to check in on an elderly parent without calling to interrupt them. Both iPhone and Android have built-in tools that make this easy to set up. This guide walks you through how to share your location, how to manage who can see it, and how to stop sharing when you no longer want to.

## How Location Sharing Works

When you share your location with someone, they can open a map on their phone and see a dot showing roughly where you are right now. This uses your phone’s GPS and updates in real time. The person sharing their location always has control — you decide who sees it and you can stop at any time.

Importantly, location sharing is not the same as phone tracking software. The legitimate built-in tools described here are voluntary, transparent, and always controlled by the person being shared.

## How to Share Your Location on iPhone

iPhone uses the **Find My** app (which replaced Find My Friends) for location sharing between family and friends.

### Sharing Your Location via Find My

1. Open the **Find My** app. It has a green icon with a radar-like symbol.
2. Tap **People** at the bottom of the screen.
3. Tap **Share My Location**.
4. Type the name or phone number of the person you want to share with. They must have an iPhone and an Apple ID.
5. Choose how long to share: **One Hour**, **Until End of Day**, or **Share Indefinitely**.
6. Tap **Send**. The other person will get a notification and can accept the request.

### Setting Up Family Location Sharing

If you use **Apple Family Sharing** (which links family members under one Apple ID group), location sharing can be set up for the whole family at once:

1. Go to **Settings**, tap your name at the top, then tap **Family Sharing**.
2. Tap **Location Sharing**.
3. Toggle on **Share Location with Family**.
4. Family members will see your location in the Find My app, and you can see theirs if they have also enabled sharing.

### How to Stop Sharing Your Location on iPhone

1. Open the **Find My** app and tap **People**.
2. Tap the name of the person you want to stop sharing with.
3. Scroll down and tap **Stop Sharing My Location**.

They will no longer see your location, and they will not receive a notification that you stopped — your dot simply disappears from their map.

## How to Share Your Location on Android

Android uses **Google Maps** for real-time location sharing with family and friends.

### Sharing Your Location via Google Maps

1. Open **Google Maps**.
2. Tap your **profile picture** or initials in the top right corner.
3. Tap **Location sharing**.
4. Tap **Share location**.
5. Choose how long to share: a set number of hours, or **Until you turn this off**.
6. Choose how to send the sharing link — you can send it via WhatsApp, text message, email, or any app on your phone.
7. The recipient gets a link. When they open it, they can see your location on a map, whether they have an Android phone or an iPhone.

### Viewing Someone Else’s Location

If someone shares their location with you in Google Maps, you will get a link. Open the link in Google Maps and you will see their moving dot on the map. You can also save it in Maps so it shows up in the Location Sharing section any time you open the app.

### How to Stop Sharing Your Location on Android

1. Open **Google Maps**.
2. Tap your profile picture, then **Location sharing**.
3. Find the person in the list and tap their name.
4. Tap **Stop** to end the sharing.

On iPhone, location sharing sits naturally inside a family group. Our guide to [setting up Apple Family Sharing](https://ajmm.org/set-up-apple-family-sharing/) explains how the group works and what else it shares.

## Tips for Using Location Sharing Sensibly

- **Use indefinite sharing for immediate family, timed sharing for specific trips.** You probably do not need your parents to see your location every day, but it makes sense to share it for a solo drive to an unfamiliar place.
- **Check who can see your location periodically.** Over time, you might have shared with more people than you remember. Open Find My (iPhone) or Google Maps Location Sharing (Android) every few months and review the list.
- **Agree on the purpose before sharing.** Location sharing works best when both people understand why they are using it. “I’ll share my location during my commute for a week while the train strikes are on” is clearer than a permanent open-ended arrangement.
- **Battery impact is small but real.** Active location sharing uses a small amount of battery because your GPS remains active. For most people this is not noticeable, but if battery life is already a concern, consider time-limited sharing instead of indefinite.

## What About WhatsApp Location Sharing?

WhatsApp also has a live location sharing feature within any chat:

1. Open a conversation in WhatsApp.
2. Tap the **+ (attachment)** icon.
3. Choose **Location**.
4. Tap **Share Live Location** and choose a duration (15 minutes, 1 hour, or 8 hours).

This is handy for meeting up with someone — share your live location for an hour, and the other person can track you to the meeting point without anyone having to send “where are you?” messages.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Does the other person know when I stop sharing my location?

On iPhone’s Find My, they do not get a notification — your location simply disappears. On Google Maps, depending on how you shared, they may see the link expire. In WhatsApp, the shared location disappears when the timer runs out.

### Can someone share my location without my knowledge?

Using the built-in tools described here, no — sharing requires you to initiate it and the other person to accept. However, there are third-party apps that can track phones without the owner’s knowledge. If you suspect someone is tracking your phone without your permission, review which apps have location access in your Settings and remove any you do not recognise.

### Does location sharing work if I have no signal?

Your location is determined by GPS, which works without signal. But the update needs to be sent to the other person over the internet, so if you have no mobile data or Wi-Fi, your location will freeze until a connection is restored.

### How accurate is the shared location?

In an open area, GPS is typically accurate to within 5–10 metres. Inside buildings, in city centres with tall buildings, or in areas with poor GPS reception, accuracy can drop to 50 metres or more. This is usually fine for checking someone has arrived safely, but not precise enough to track someone room by room.

### Can I share my location with someone who has a different type of phone?

Find My only works between Apple devices. However, Google Maps location sharing works across both platforms — you can share from an Android to an iPhone user and vice versa, using the link method.

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