Sharing your live location comes in handy when you want your family and friends to stay updated with your estimated time of arrival. Besides, real-time location sharing can also help you keep tabs on the whereabouts of your kid. Thanks to the seamless integration with Apple Maps, you can easily share your live location with someone in iMessage on your iPhone. And in case you aren’t a fan of the stock navigation app for iOS, it’s now possible to share your live location using Google Maps via iMessage on iPhone. So, let me help you set up real-time location sharing in iMessage.

Live location sharing in iMessage has existed for several years on iPhone. So, even if you are running an older version of iOS, you can still use this feature. As for Google Maps, it recently got an update to allow live location sharing through iMessage. It’s worth pointing out that live location sharing was already available within the Google Maps app (tap on the blue dot -> Share Your Location).

  • Pre-Requisites for Sharing Live Location on Your iPhone
  • Share Real-Time Location Using Apple Maps in iMessage on iPhone
  • Share Live Location Using Google Maps in iMessage on iPhone

Pre-Requisites for Sharing Live Location on Your iPhone

  1. First, ensure that you have enabled “Share My Location” in the Find My setting on your device. To do that, head over to Settings -> Apple ID -> Find My. Now, toggle on the “Share My Location” option.

  2. Make sure the Messages app has access to your location. Open the Settings app and navigate to Privacy -> Location Services -> Messages. For a seamless live location sharing experience, select the “While Using the App” option under the “Allow Location Access” section. Besides, make sure that the “Precise Location” toggle is turned on.

If you are an Apple Maps user, let’s take a look at how you can share your real-time location with friends and family in iMessage.

  1. Next, tap on the name of the person at the top.

  2. Select the duration you are most comfortable with. In the end, also make sure to tap on “Done” at the top right corner.

  3. Since the real-time location sharing widget is available in the latest version of the Google Maps app, make sure you have updated the navigation app. To do so, open the App Store on your iPhone, tap on your profile picture at the top right. Here, find Google Maps and then tap Update. If no update is available, you will see an “Open” button next to it.