Hundreds of millions of people use WhatsApp every day to communicate with loved ones. But there’s more to Facebook’s messaging service than just voice calls and text messages. The application offers many other services. Here are the steps to follow to share your location in real time with your friends from an Android smartphone.
Use WhatsApp Live Location
You are a parent and you want to keep an eye on the movements of your children? Are you tired of pacing in front of a restaurant while waiting for a lost friend you had made an appointment with? The solution to all these problems is called location sharing.
Over the past ten years, positioning technologies and in particular GPS have completely changed our daily lives. Today you no longer need to bother with a map to find your way.
WhatsApp app is not just for chatting with friends, you can also use it to share your location on a map through the live location system. Once the option is activated, your family but also your friends will be able to follow all your movements directly from their phone.
Small important clarification, this feature has end-to-end encryption. In concrete terms, this means that only authorized people will be able to access your location.
Share location on WhatsApp
Before you start, you should know that location sharing on WhatsApp has been designed to work for a specific period of time. Once this period has passed, your whereabouts will remain confidential.
- Make sure your phone’s GPS feature is turned on
- To do this, put your finger on the top of the screen and drag it down
- Click on the Location icon
- If it doesn’t appear, tap the pencil icon
- Move the Location icon to the Quick Settings menu on your smartphone
- Then launch the WhatsApp application
- Select the group, chat or person you want to share your location with
- Click on the paperclip icon in the message field at the bottom of the screen
- Select the Location option
- Allow the WhatsApp application to access your location
- Click on the send your current location icon
A map will appear with your position in the chat you are participating in. By clicking on it, WhatsApp will launch the GPS application installed by default on your device. This will allow you to obtain additional information or launch the navigation mode.
Enable live location option
If you are one of those worried parents who want to track their children’s movements, know that the WhatsApp application has a function called Live Location.
Unlike position sharing, this device makes it possible to geolocate and know in real time the exact position of these WhatsApp contacts. Note that this device is limited in time (from several minutes to several hours).
- Launch WhatsApp
- Open the chat where you want to enable live location
- Click on the paper clip icon then on location
- Tap the green Share Live Location icon
- Select the duration during which you want your loved ones to be able to follow your movements
- Then add a message
- Click the send button
The application will display your position in real time until the time indicated in the message. Note that it is possible at any time to end geolocation by clicking on the red Stop sharing button.
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