Family life

How to Share Your Location With Family on iPhone and Android

By TheTruthSpy Editor · Founder and editorPublished October 12, 202610 min read

A family dinner table seen from above, with four phones beside the plates each showing a map with family members' dots

Say two of you have iPhones and the teenagers have Android phones. You open Find My, and half the family isn’t there. That isn’t a setting you have missed: Apple’s location sharing only works between Apple devices, and that alone explains many “it doesn’t work” moments.

The right tool depends on which phones your family uses, and whether you want sharing all the time or just for one journey. Once you know that, setting it up takes a few minutes per person.

Below are the main options as of September 2026, what the other person sees and is told, how to stop, and how to agree the arrangement so it stays mutual.

The short version

All iPhones: use Find My’s Share My Location, which also appears in Messages.
All Android, or a mix of iPhone and Android: use Google Maps location sharing, which runs on both.
For a single journey, share for an hour or use WhatsApp live location, which always ends by itself.
Starting a share is visible to the other person; stopping is quieter, but they will notice your location has gone.
Agree together who shares with whom and when it’s off, and review it every so often.

Choose by the phones your family uses

Everyone has an iPhone: Find My. It’s built in, and family members in a Family Sharing group already appear in it.
Everyone has Android: Google Location Sharing, which you can start from Google Maps, Find Hub or Google Messages. Samsung owners can also use Samsung Find.
A mix: Google Maps. It’s the main free option that keeps running on both, as long as everyone has a Google Account.
One trip: any of the above with a time limit, or WhatsApp live location in a family chat.
Younger children with supervised accounts: Family Link on Android, or Family Sharing on iPhone (see below).

An iPhone-style and an Android-style phone side by side, both showing the same three family members' initials on a map — In a mixed family, one app that runs on both kinds of phone saves everyone checking two maps.

iPhone: Find My and Messages

Find My and Messages use the same sharing, so a share started in one shows in the other. Menu wording can vary slightly between iOS versions.

Open Find My, tap Me and turn on Share My Location.
Tap People, then + (Add), then Share My Location.
Choose the person, tap Send, and pick how long: one hour, until the end of the day, or indefinitely.

From Messages, tap the person’s name at the top of a conversation and choose Share My Location. You can also tap + in the chat, then Location, to share a live location that updates as you move. Apple says both of you need an iPhone for this.

With Family Sharing

If you already use Family Sharing, go to Settings → Family → Location Sharing. Apple says that once the organiser turns it on, the organiser’s location is shared with the whole group automatically; everyone else chooses for themselves whether to share. You only see someone’s location if they share it.

Messages also has Check In, which tells someone you have arrived without sharing your location along the way. It’s covered in our guide to check-ins as an alternative to tracking.

Close-up of a phone screen offering three sharing lengths: one hour, until end of day, and until turned off — A time limit means nobody has to remember to switch sharing off after a trip.

Android and mixed families: Google Location Sharing

Google now runs one location-sharing system across Maps, Find Hub, Messages and Family Link. Start a share in any of them, and it shows in all of them. Stop it in one, and Google says it stops everywhere.

Google Maps (iPhone and Android)

Open Google Maps and tap your profile picture.
Tap Location sharing, then New share.
Choose how long, including Until you turn this off.
Pick the person and tap Share.

The person needs a Google Account. For someone without one, Google lets you copy a link instead, which works for up to 24 hours. On an iPhone, Google Maps needs permission to use location in the background to keep updating, so allow Always when asked, or change it in Settings → Apps → Google Maps → Location.

Once someone shares with you, you can tap their profile in Location sharing and add a notification for when they arrive at or leave a place. Google emails them to say you did, and they can turn such alerts off.

Find Hub and Google Messages (Android)

In the Find Hub app, go to the people section and tap Start share. Google lists one hour, until the end of the day, until you stop, or a custom length. In Google Messages, open a chat, tap the attachment button, then Real-time location; custom lengths there go up to 24 hours.

To see or stop every share at once, go to Settings → Location → Location services → Google Location Sharing. Turning off Use Location Sharing pauses updates without removing anyone.

A child with a backpack walking up to a school gate on a sunny day, with a notification reading Sam arrived at School — Arrival alerts can replace checking the map. In Google Maps and Find My, the person is told when someone sets one up about them.

Samsung Find and WhatsApp live location

Samsung Find (Galaxy phones)

If everyone has a Galaxy phone, Samsung Find has its own People tab for sharing with other Samsung account users, including your Samsung family group (Settings → Samsung account → Family). The other person needs the Samsung Find app too. A child’s location is shared only after a parent gives consent, and the parent’s phone is then notified. Stop by opening People, choosing the person, then More, and turning off Share my location.

WhatsApp live location (iPhone and Android)

For one journey, a family WhatsApp group is often simplest, because everyone already has it. Open the chat, tap the attachment button, then Location → Share live location, and choose how long; the choices are short, from minutes to hours, and there is no “until I stop” option. WhatsApp says live location is end-to-end encrypted, so only the people in that chat can see it. It ends at the time you chose; to stop early, tap Stop sharing in the chat, or go to Settings → Privacy → Live location.

Remember that everyone in a group chat sees a location shared there, including relatives you may not have had in mind.

A teenager at a zebra crossing with a phone in hand, and a message bubble showing a live location pin with a timer — A time-limited share covers the journey home, then ends without anyone having to remember.

Comparing the options

This is what each option does as of September 2026. Features change, so check the app if something doesn’t match.

Method	iPhone	Android	Time-limited?	Who sees it	Notifications
Find My / Messages Share My Location	Yes	No	1 hour, end of day, or indefinitely	People you choose; Family Sharing members if you share with them	You appear in their People list; Apple says stopping doesn’t notify them
Google Maps location sharing	Yes	Yes	Set time, or until you turn it off	People with a Google Account you choose, or anyone with a link (up to 24 hours)	In-app notification, or email if they don’t use Maps or Find Hub; you’re emailed if they add arrival alerts about you
Find Hub / Google Messages	Use Google Maps	Yes	1 hour, end of day, until stopped, or custom (Messages: up to 24 hours)	People you choose	Same as Google Maps: it’s the same share
Samsung Find	No	Galaxy phones	Time range you choose	Samsung account users you choose, such as your family group	Parents are notified once they consent to a child sharing
WhatsApp live location	Yes	Yes	Always; you pick the length	Everyone in that chat	Shows as a message in the chat
Family Link	Parent’s app only	Child’s phone	No, on until a parent turns it off	Parents of a supervised child	Parents can set arrive and leave alerts

Children: Family Link and Family Sharing

For a younger child with a supervised Google Account, location comes from Family Link rather than ordinary sharing. In the Family Link app, parents go to Location → Set up location, choose the child and tap Turn on, then can add arrive and leave alerts for places such as home or school. Our guide to setting up Google Family Link walks through it, including what the child sees.

On iPhone, a child in your Family Sharing group can share their location with the family from Find My in the same way as an adult. Whichever you use, tell your child it’s on and why, and let them see your location too.

Two map panels: a small precise circle around a dot outdoors and a large fuzzy circle around a dot inside a building — Outdoors, a phone can usually place itself within a few metres; indoors, the circle grows and the dot can land on the wrong building.

Battery, accuracy and delays

Location sharing doesn’t need the app to be open, but it does need the phone to be on, connected and allowed to use location in the background. Most confusion comes from forgetting one of those.

Accuracy varies. Outdoors, satellite positioning is usually precise. Indoors and in dense city streets, phones fall back on Wi-Fi and mobile masts, and the dot can sit on the wrong building. Look at the size of the circle, not just the dot.
Updates aren’t constant. They can be minutes apart, and battery-saving modes can slow them further. Always read the “updated” time before worrying.
A flat or switched-off phone stops sharing. You’ll see the last place it reported. Agree in advance that a stale dot means “battery”, not “emergency”.
Battery use is usually modest, but it adds to navigation, games and video on a long day out. A small power bank solves most of it.

A phone showing Sam's card on a map: updated 2 min ago, 64% battery and walking — Before worrying, read the “updated” time; where an app also shows battery level, a low figure explains most frozen dots.

Agree it together before you switch it on

Location sharing works best as an arrangement everyone has said yes to. Settle four things first.

Who shares with whom. Make it two-way where you can: parents share with teenagers, not only the other way round.
When it’s on. All the time, only on school days, or only for trips and late nights. Time-limited shares suit older teenagers.
What it’s for. For example, “so we know you got home”, not checking where someone was on Saturday afternoon.
When you’ll review it. A birthday or the start of a school year is a natural point to loosen it.

If a live map feels like too much, a check-in at agreed moments often works better; the check-ins guide linked above has example agreements for teenagers and older parents.

A wall calendar with one date circled, a location pin icon and a Review tag beside it — Put a review date in the family calendar, so sharing gets loosened as children get older instead of staying on by default.

Stopping sharing, and what the other person notices

Find My: tap People, choose the person, then Stop Sharing My Location. To stop with everyone, turn off Share My Location under Me. Apple says the person isn’t notified, but your location will no longer show for them.
Google Maps: tap your profile picture, then Location sharing, the person and Stop. In Find Hub, tap the person, then Stop sharing. Either one ends the share in every Google app. Google doesn’t say it notifies them, but you’ll disappear from their list.
WhatsApp: tap Stop sharing in the chat, and your live location stops updating for everyone in it.

Because stopping is quiet, agree in advance that anyone who wants sharing off says so, rather than just switching it off.

A phone listing people you share your location with, with switches for each and a red Stop button beside one name — In Find My and Google’s apps, you can stop sharing with one person without affecting anyone else on the list.

What if it doesn’t work

Someone’s location says “No location found” or is hours old. Their phone may be off, offline or in a battery-saving mode. On iPhone, check under Me in Find My that Share My Location is on and that the phone they carry is the one sharing (Use This iPhone as My Location).
An Android family member is missing from Find My. Find My doesn’t work with Android. Use Google Maps for the whole family instead.
Google Maps on iPhone stops updating. Set Google Maps’ location access to Always. Low Power Mode can also delay updates.
A child’s phone can’t start a Google share. Google says an account managed by a parent has its location sharing managed in Family Link, so set it up there.

Frequently asked questions

Can an iPhone and an Android phone share locations with each other?

Yes, through Google Maps or WhatsApp, which both run on iPhone and Android. Apple’s Find My and Samsung Find don’t work across the two.

Is the other person told when I start sharing?

With Google, yes: they get a notification if they have Maps or Find Hub with notifications on, and an email if not. In Find My, you appear in their People list. In WhatsApp, it appears as a message in the chat.

Can I share with someone who doesn’t have a Google Account?

Yes, with a Google Maps link, which lets anyone who has it see your location for up to 24 hours. Send it only to the person you mean it for.

Do we need a separate family-location app?

Usually not. The built-in options cover sharing, time limits and arrival alerts. A separate app can make sense if you want extra features, such as alerts for several places, working the same way across a mixed family.

Should a teenager be able to turn sharing off?

They can on their own phone, whatever you agree. It works better if you agree when it’s off, such as at friends’ houses, than if they have to switch it off without telling you.

Sources and further reading

Written by

TheTruthSpy Editor · Founder and editor

Parent of [two] children aged [9 and 14], and has run [TheTruthSpy] on the family's Android phones since [2022].

I started [TheTruthSpy] after trying to find a parental control app that would tell me what it could and could not see. Most of them would not, so I ended up building one that does. I write the guides on this site myself, on the phones in my own house — [a Samsung Galaxy A-series and a Pixel], both on [Android 14]. When a page says a menu sits three taps deep, I counted the taps. When a page says a feature cannot do something, it is because I tried it and it did not work. I am not a security researcher and I do not pretend to be one. What I have is [three] years of living with these tools in a house with teenagers, and a strong dislike of software that overstates itself.

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