Google Maps to enable real-time location sharing with friends and family

Google has announced a new real—time location sharing feature for Google Maps to let users on Android and iOS share their real-time location with friends, family, and colleagues and these people will be able to see the location on Android, iPhone, mobile web, and desktop.

“Location sharing on Google Maps is rolling worldwide over the coming week, and you’ll be able to quickly let your friends and family know where you are and when you’ll get where you’re going,” said Sanket Gupta, Product Manager, Google Maps, in a post.

The location-sharing feature only works if you decide to share your current location with a specific person, and you can limit how long a friend sees your location. Google said the update is coming "soon," though it did provide an exact release date.

Whenever you want to let someone know where you are, just open the side menu or tap the blue dot that represents where you are. Tap “Share location” and then select who to share with and how long to share—and you're done! You can share your real-time location with your Google contacts, or even share with friends and family by sending a link to your favorite messenger apps.

Notably, you can turn off real-time location sharing at any moment — including before the timer you originally chose runs out. Also, an icon appears above the compass on your own screen to remind you whenever real-time sharing is active with anyone.

The new feature comes on the heels of many other Maps update in the last few weeks including parking spot reminders and the ability to share your favourite local spots with friends.