Best location sharing apps for Android

It matters where you are. Most of the rhetoric is about hiding your location from big companies like Facebook, Google and other advertising platforms. However, you may want to share your location with friends and family for a variety of reasons. Some families like to accompany each other for safety reasons. You might want to send friends your location so they can pick you up or find you. Anyway, location sharing apps are available. These are the best location sharing apps for Android.

Facebook Messenger

Price: Free

Facebook Messenger is one of the few good messaging apps that offer built-in location sharing. The app needs to know your location, so it might not be a good option if you don’t trust Facebook. Otherwise it’s pretty easy. Share your location and your friends can click it to open the map. It’s a handy feature for quickly sharing your location without exposing your friends or family. Of course, Facebook still knows, so it might not be the best option for some people.

Find My Kids is a parental control app that helps parents track their children’s location. You can see where the children are going and where they have been. It seems pretty simple. The application opens and immediately displays the information as best it can. There is also an integrated chat and various security controls, and you can also monitor the battery of the child’s phone. You can choose between a single price or a subscription.

with GeoZ

Price: Free / $59.99 per year

GeoZilla is a family finder app for everyone. It shows you where the kids are, and it shows the kids where you are. Parents can also check location history and the app has a chat function. It works pretty well, even if it’s a little basic. You can enhance the experience with the company’s GPS tracker, but it works well on your phone without a tracker. You can try it for free for three days before the $59.99 annual subscription kicks in, so be sure to test it thoroughly.

Glympse is another location sharing service, and it’s not half bad. He uses his name as a verb for easier clarification. Send someone Glymps and they can see where you are. You can receive Glymps from others. This works as a location sharing app like most others. It can also set up events so you can see where everyone is on the big day. Most of the complaints about this are intermittent connectivity issues. Make sure you have a good internet connection or it may not work properly.

Google Maps is the default option. Its location sharing function is good and probably the best alternative to Apple’s Find My Location sharing. You add your friends or family to your Google contacts. From there, you can open Google Maps, tap your profile picture in the top right corner, and select the Share Location option. We like this option because you can set it for temporary and permanent access. Other than that, it’s pretty accurate. Here is Google’s official guide if you need to set it up.

Life360 is one of the most popular mobile location sharing apps. It works cross-platform with iOS, so it’s a good solution for families with devices from every ecosystem. The app offers real-time tracking, alerts when people leave or arrive at a destination, and built-in chat. The app has several different subscriptions depending on what you want. However, some unique features include phone theft coverage, crime reports, and more. Most complaints about the app stem from GPS issues, so test it thoroughly before committing to anything.

My GPS location

Price: Free

My GPS Location is a super simple app for determining your location. It simply shows you where you are. The application includes latitude and longitude coordinates along with altitude. You can share this information with anyone who wants to. This app seems to be designed for hikers and other activities that take you away from civilization. So we feel obligated to point out that it can’t magically share things if you don’t have a signal. Otherwise, it works as intended, even if it is a bit literal in its approach.

You probably know what Snapchat is and how it works. For the uninitiated, the app is a photo-sharing platform where you send people messages or videos instead of text messages (although text messages are also an option). The app includes an optional location service. You can enable it and your friends will be able to find you. There are some detailed controls. For example, you can share only with specific or all of your friends. We recommend the first option, just in case.

Portable solutions

Price: Free / Varies

Many mobile operators have family location services. We’re sure all four major US carriers (T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint) have these types of features. It works the same way in all parts of the world. You enable the service for a nominal fee and then use the apps to view locations and other things. Each of them also has several fun features. For example, the T-Mobile variant has scheduled checks so you can receive alerts throughout the day. We recommend that you contact your operator directly for details and prices.

Most GPS applications

Price: Free (usually)

Almost all GPS applications have location sharing functionality to some extent. At the very least, such apps can share your location in the form of a message so people can find you. For example, if you are at a local McDonald’s, you can share the location of the local McDonald’s with others. Usually those apps aren’t that efficient in the process, but if you don’t need a real-time locator, your GPS might be a pretty good answer and keep you from needing another app altogether. Those with Google Maps in particular have a solution for two birds with one stone. We have HERE Maps linked to the button below, but most GPS apps have at least a basic sharing function.