It could be as simple as greeting friends, letting your loved ones know that they can track your movement until you get home, or sharing GPS coordinates of a place. In this article, I will explain how to use the different capabilities of sharing the location using the WhatsApp app whenever necessary.
How to Share Your Live Location on WhatsApp
If you share your live location on WhatsApp, the recipient can see where you are now for a particular time. You can select it to share your area for 15 minutes, 1 hour, or 8 hours.
I particularly like it when going home late at night as it helps me scan through the map easily. It informs my parents about my progress, and they are at ease.
To share your live location on WhatsApp:
1. Go to the desired chat or a group chat on WhatsApp with which you’d like to share your location.
2. The paper clip icon is located in the lower right of the screen – give it a tap. So if you are using an iPhone, go to the bottom left of your screen and click on the plus sign.
3. Drop down a menu that now appears and click on the Location tab.
4. Select the Share live location and choose your time preference.
5. Then you can add a comment if you want and then click the send button.
After sharing the live location, the recipient can see your location in the chat as a still image. They can hit this image to see your last updated location. If you wish to stop sharing your live location before the set time is up, you are free to do that.
How to Share Your Current Location on WhatsApp
Sometimes, you wish to inform someone of your exact position when they need to be informed. For such conditions, one can share the current location through WhatsApp, letting the receiver see a pin that indicates the current location.
Here’s how to use it:
1. To send the location to your companion, friend, or group, open the conversation or the group conversation in WhatsApp.
2. At the bottom, tap the paper clip or plus icon and then tap the Location option.
3. To update your current position, look at the top right corner, even on the map, and click the location icon.
4. Go ahead and hit the Send your current location option. You will also see how accurate your location is.
The recipient can see where you are currently by a stationary pin on the map, enabling him/her to find you easily. This feature is useful when you want to share your location once, for instance, when sharing the driver’s location with a passenger.
This feature has proved handy when I’m waiting for my friends around major malls, cafés, or virtually any busy places. It saves me from using other applications to share and find my friend’s location.
How to Share a Location Pin on WhatsApp
Therefore, although using a live location allows others to see precisely where you are, it is often only useful when you are in that particular location. But what if you are facilitating a place for an organized meet-up, for instance, a coffee shop or your friend’s house, when you are not there physically?
The good news is that WhatsApp has figured this out, and people can share particular places or location pins appropriate for directing people to a possible meeting place. Here’s how to use this feature:
1. The good news is that WhatsApp has figured this out, and one can share particular places or location pins that are appropriate for directing people to a possible meeting place. Here’s how to use this feature:
2. Click on the locate icon at the top and then enter the name of the place you wish to send. After that, choose from the options at the bottom of each window.
3. You can also pin a location on the map’s square corner icon on the top left corner. Then, tap Send this location.
For one, this option is wonderful for those who want to map out the locations that you know your friends will find comfortable even if you are not there with them.
Now that you know how to use locations to communicate on the app, we are ready to move to the next topic. This way, people can be certain where they are going, and they’ll even get there even if you don’t have a street address. On the other hand, live location tracking can help us share our live location with our friends and families.
