How to Share Location on iPhone
Share your live location on iPhone through Find My or Messages, send a one-time pin, share your ETA in Apple Maps, share with Android users through Google Maps, and stop sharing when you are done.
You will end up able to share your live location for as long as you choose, send a one-time pin, and share your ETA while you travel. You will also know how to share with someone on Android and how to stop sharing with anyone. In an April 2025 CivicScience survey, 41% of U.S. adults said they share their location with at least one person, and the figure was 65% among adults aged 18 to 29.
We checked every path and label against Apple's support pages, the iPhone User Guide for iOS 27, and Google Maps Help in October 2026.
Turn on Share My Location
Every method in this guide except the Google Maps one in step 6 needs Share My Location on. Turning it off hides your location from everyone you share with. Open the Find My app and tap the Me tab at the bottom, then turn on Share My Location. Look at the line reading Sharing From to see which device is actually broadcasting. If it names a device you are not holding, tap Use This iPhone as My Location. You can reach the same settings from Settings, your name, then Find My, if you prefer. If people still cannot see your location after this, go to Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Location Services. Make sure the switch at the top is on, then tap Find My and make sure it is not set to Never.
Good to know: If you wear an Apple Watch with cellular, Apple says your location is shared from the watch when you are out of range of your iPhone and the watch is on your wrist.
Share your location through the Find My app
Use Find My to share your Live Location with someone for an hour, until the end of the day, or indefinitely. When you both have an iPhone with iOS 15 or later, Apple says they can also see the direction you are traveling and how fast. Open the Find My app and tap the People tab at the bottom. Tap the Add button, then tap Share My Location. Type the person's name or phone number in the "With" field, or tap the Add Contact button and pick them from your list, then tap Done. Choose how long you want to share, or tap Custom to set your own duration or end time. The other person finds your location by tapping your name in the People tab of their Find My app, and also in Maps, Contacts, and Messages. Sharing goes one way. To see where they are, they have to share back, or you can ask them (FAQ 6).
Share your location through Messages
If you are already texting someone, share from the conversation. This works in an iMessage conversation (blue bubbles). In an SMS conversation (green bubbles), Apple says to send a pin instead (step 4). Open the conversation, tap the plus button next to the text field, then tap Location and tap Share. Pick how long you want to share (1 hour, until the end of the day, or indefinitely), then send it. Your location appears in the conversation and updates in real time. On iOS 17 or later, they also see your approximate location under your name at the top of the conversation, and tapping your name shows it on a map. You can also tap the person's name at the top of the conversation, then tap Share My Location. Apple says your location is shared the same way whichever app you start from. When someone asks where you are, tap Current Location above the keyboard to share in one tap.
Send a one-time location pin instead
Send a pin when the other person only needs one spot, such as where to meet. Open a conversation in Messages, tap the plus button next to the text field, and tap Location. Tap the pin icon in the top left of the map, then drag the map until the pin sits where you want it, and tap Send Pin. It defaults to where you are, but because you can drag it, you can just as easily pin the restaurant door or the far end of a parking lot. Pinned locations are static and do not update as you move. The other person sees a tappable map card in the conversation. They can tap it to open it in Maps and get directions to you. This is also the method for someone on Android, because Apple's Messages guide says to send a pinned location in an SMS conversation.
Share your ETA while navigating in Apple Maps
Share ETA tells someone when you will arrive while you follow driving, cycling, or walking directions. Apple says it shares your Live Location and your route, and that your ETA updates automatically if there are major delays. Open Apple Maps, search for your destination, and tap Go to start navigation. Tap the route card at the bottom of the screen, then tap Share ETA. Choose one or more suggested contacts, or tap Open Contacts to find someone else. If Share ETA is missing, turn it on in Settings, then Apps, then Maps. People on iOS 13.1 or later get a Maps notification and can follow your progress in Maps. To stop before you arrive, tap Sharing with at the bottom of the screen, then tap Stop Sharing ETA below each name. Android users can get your ETA too. Apple says people on other phones receive an SMS message instead of a Maps notification. Check your pinned places as well. If you added a contact to a pinned place in Maps, Apple says that contact gets your ETA automatically every time you navigate there.
Share with Android users through Google Maps
Find My only works between Apple devices. If the person you want to share with has an Android phone, use Google Maps, because it runs on both phones and either of you can share with the other. Sign in to your Google Account first. Google says the person needs a Gmail account for this kind of share. Open Google Maps and tap your profile picture or initial. Tap Location sharing, then tap New share. Choose how long you want to share, up to Until you turn this off, tap the person you want to share with, and tap Share. For someone without a Google Account, send a link instead, which shares your location for up to 24 hours. The other person sees your real-time location on their map, whatever phone they use, and Google says they also see your battery level and whether your phone is charging. You can also share during navigation. Start directions in Google Maps, swipe up on the info card, tap Share trip progress, pick the person, and tap Share. Google stops sharing when you reach the destination or end navigation.
Stop sharing and check who can see you
Check who has access to your location every now and then, especially if you have shared indefinitely with people in the past. Open the Find My app and tap the People tab. You will see everyone you are currently sharing with and everyone who is sharing with you. To stop sharing with someone, tap their name, tap Stop Sharing My Location, then tap Stop Sharing Location to confirm. Your location disappears from their Find My, Maps, Contacts, and Messages apps, and Apple says they are not notified, though they may notice. Stopping in one app stops it in all of them. To pause instead, tap the person's name, tap the More button, then tap Hide Location. Apple says sharing resumes on its own the next day. To stop sharing with everyone at once, open Find My, tap the Me tab at the bottom, and turn off Share My Location. Do not delete the Find My app to stop sharing. Apple says the people you shared with can still see your location if you do. For a full review, go to Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Safety Check, tap Manage Sharing & Access, and tap Continue. It walks you through the people you share with, the apps with access to your information, and the devices signed in to your Apple Account, which Apple called your Apple ID until iOS 18. Apple notes it cannot review everything, such as social media sharing or information shared from another device.
If someone says they cannot see you, open Find My, tap Me, and check that the line next to Sharing From names the iPhone in your hand (step 1). Then check that Find My is not set to Never under Location Services. For Live Location with direction and speed, both of you need iOS 15 or later. If they use Android, send a pin (step 4) or switch to Google Maps (step 6). FAQ 1 below answers the battery question, FAQ 2 the notification question, and FAQ 4 what a friend's status means. If you need to turn off Find My entirely before a sale or a fresh start, or want the iOS 27 Ready for Repair or Trade-In setting instead, our guide on how to turn off Find My iPhone covers that, including removal from iCloud.com.
Questions we get asked about this
Answers from experience, not a textbook.
Any location feature uses some power, and we could not find a figure from Apple for how much location sharing costs. Check your own phone instead. Settings, then Battery, lists which apps have used the most power, and third-party tracking apps show up there too.
No. Apple says the person you stop sharing with is not notified. Your location disappears from their Find My, Maps, Contacts, and Messages apps, so they may notice. Apple's Personal Safety User Guide adds that on earlier software, they may get a notice in Messages that you stopped.
Apple merged it into the Find My app in iOS 13, in September 2019. Find My Friends and Find My iPhone used to be two separate apps. Find My now has four tabs: People (the old Find My Friends), Devices (the old Find My iPhone), Items (for AirTags and other accessories), and Me (your own sharing settings).
Apple shows No location found when your friend cannot be located. Ask them to check that Share My Location is on in Find My and that Location Services is on for Find My, under Settings, then Privacy and Security, then Location Services. If you see Can see your location instead, they can see you but you are not following them, so ask to follow them (FAQ 6).
Anyone you share with through Find My appears in your People tab, and you can revoke access at any time. That tab does not cover everything, though. Anyone who knows your Apple Account password can sign in at icloud.com/find and see your devices, and Apple lets Find Devices open without the two-factor code. If you have any doubt, change the password and run Safety Check from step 7. Unknown AirTags are the other concern. If an AirTag or another tracker that is away from its owner moves with you over time, your iPhone alerts you. These alerts arrived in iOS 14.5, and Apple's tracking-alert page says trackers from other makers need iOS 17.5 or later. Keep Bluetooth on, allow Tracking Notifications in Settings, then Notifications, and turn off Airplane Mode, which blocks the alerts. To review items that recently triggered an alert, open Find My, tap Items, scroll to the bottom, and tap Unknown Items Detected with You.
In Find My, share your location with them first (step 2), because Apple lists only people you share with. Then tap People, tap the person's name, and tap Ask To Follow Location. They choose whether to accept, and nothing appears on your map until they do. In a Messages conversation with one other person, tap the plus button, tap Location, then tap Request. You can also send a message ending in "Where are you?" and tap Request Location above the keyboard. Asking is always a request, never something you can switch on from your side.
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