Google Maps can give you peace of mind when it comes to your loved ones. Whether you are a school child or an elderly family member, you can use Google Maps to find the location of your family or friends.
Track your kids, see when they get home, or check to see if a close friend is traveling. With Google Maps online or on your mobile device, you can see where they are when you’re concerned.
Request the location of a friend or family member
To share real-time locations between you and your contact, you will both need the Google Maps mobile app. You can download it on Android or iPhone for free. You must also be willing to share your own location with your contact at least once. That’s what makes the ball roll for you to request their location.
Open the Google Maps app on your mobile device to start sharing location. You may need to adjust your settings to enable Google Maps location services, if requested.
Touch your profile or home photo found in the upper right corner of the application window and select “Location sharing”.
If you’ve never shared your location on Google Maps before, you’ll need to share it with your contact before requesting theirs. Touch “New share”.
Before choosing a contact, use the drop-down box to select a time period. You can share your location for a certain period or even turn it off.
Then, select your contact or scroll to the right and tap “More” to see all your contacts. Choose one and tap “Share”.
After sharing your location, you can request that your contact share theirs with you. Select the contact and tap “Request”.
You will see a message stating that your email address will be shared with them and you can choose to disable that same message in the future. Tap “Request” here as well.
If you’ve shared your location with someone before, you’ll see it at the bottom of the Location Sharing window. From there, you can share your place with them again or simply ask them to share theirs with you.
Touch your contact at the bottom, choose “Request” and touch “Request” again in the subsequent window.
Your contact will receive a notification on Google Maps and by email informing you that you have requested to share your location.
Find someone with Google Maps
Once someone agrees to share your location with you, you can easily find them on Google Maps on your mobile device or online.
Find someone on the phone
Open Google Maps on your mobile device, touch your profile or home photo in the upper right corner and select “Location sharing”.
You’ll see contacts sharing their locations with you at the bottom. Touch to view details about your location, get directions to them, or simply view your location on the map.
Find someone online
Go to Google Maps online and sign in. Click the three-line menu button in the upper left corner next to the search box and choose “Location sharing”.
Select the contact who is sharing your location with you. You’ll see their photo or initials appear on the map along with the address of your current location on the left.
Hide someone on Google Maps
Even if someone has shared your location with you, it doesn’t mean that you want to see it on the map all the time. You may already know that they are safe and sound and now you want to check on someone else. Fortunately, you can hide a contact on the map if you wish.
Hide someone on your phone
Go back to the Location Sharing screen in the app by tapping your profile or home photo and “Location Sharing”. Choose the contact at the bottom that you want to hide from the map.
Touch the three dots in the upper right corner of the location details and select “Hide [Name] From the map. “
To unhide a contact, touch the contact at the bottom of your location sharing list. When the message appears at the top stating that they are hidden, tap “Show”.
Hide Someone Online
Go back to the Location Sharing area of Google Maps online with Menu> Location Sharing.
Select the contact you want to hide and click “Hide on the map” below the name. This will remove the photo or initial from the map view, although they will still appear in the location sharing list.
To display a contact, hover over the contact’s name in the location sharing list and click “Show on map”.
To stop seeing a contact’s location completely and in the future, you have the option to block it. Otherwise, wait for the sharing time to expire or wait for them to decide to stop sharing their place with you.
You know what they say, sharing is caring! So if you want to check on a loved one to make sure you’re at home or where you want to go, get Google Maps to work.