How to track someone on Google Maps or share your own location | TechBuyGuide
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How to track someone on Google Maps or share your own location

Google Maps offer a useful function thanks to which you can track the location of your family or friends or share your own actual location in real-time.

Share location live on Google Maps
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There are many reasons when you might need to track someone else’s location, whether it is to check up on your child commuting to school every day, to keep an eye on an elderly family member or share your location with your second half during your long travel to assure them you are safe.

Google Maps Share location service makes it easily possible to track others location in almost real-time.

How to find a Friend or Family Member’s Location

  1. The very first thing to be able to share the location data between both of you, you will need to have an up-to-date Google Maps app installed on your Android or iPhone phones. This app is free and is natively part of your Android phone. If you are an owner if iPhone with the iOS operating system, you will need to download Google Maps as they are not part of your system. Do not confuse them with Apple’s native Maps app. You can download it for free from your App store here.

Once you have your app installed, you will be asked to allow location services for Google Maps the first time you open the app. You will need to enable your GPS/Location service to be able to.

  1. After allowing your app access to your phones locations services, click on your profile icon (you must have logged-in to do this) in the top right-hand corner which will open a menu. Select Location Sharing.

In order for this feature to work properly in real-time, you have to let the app to use the location services ‘Always’. If you previously allowed sharing your location ‘Just once’ or only for the time while you use the app’ you will be asked again to change this. You can do this right from app when asked or via your phone’s settings.

  1. After you set your location settings, click on the blue ‘New share’ button at the bottom. On the next screen, your exact location will appear and you will be able to select contacts you’d like to share your location with. You also have an option to select only a certain time window for others to be able to follow your location. After time passes, the location sharing will automatically stop.
  1. When you find a select the contact you want to share your location with, click on the Share button to begin the process. After this, you will also be able to request their location to be shared with you at the same time. This will have to be approved on the second device before the sharing commences.

In the next step, you may share your email address with the contact so he or she will be sure it is really you who is asking for their location.

  1. Once either or both devices are paired, you will be able to see each other’s location on map live, simply by going to the Location sharing screen in the app.

More Google Share Location features

There also some other features connected with this, as you can see the remaining battery life of the other’s device, set Directions and navigate to the contact or hide it, simply by selecting the contact on the map or at the bottom menu and choosing the action you’d like to do.

You also have an option to block the contact completely from sharing the location with you (or you with him) if you need so.

Does Google Share Location work on other devices too?

Yes, the Google Maps Share Location feature does not only work on your mobile app but will also work on all devices which have access to the internet. For example, you can track someone else’s location on your Laptop, iMac, Tablet, iPad or even your smart TV if it features an internet browser. Simply visit the official Google Maps website, login to your Google Account and select Location sharing from the left side menu.

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