How to share location on WhatsApp: Step-by-step guide

WhatsApp goes beyond messaging, offering seamless connectivity with features like location sharing. This functionality comes in handy in several situations. For instance, when you need to navigate to a specific location, the individual at that place can share their location, allowing you to follow the suggested route seamlessly. Conversely, you can utilise this feature to send your location to someone visiting your residence for the first time. This simplifies travel and navigation in unfamiliar areas. Whether you’re coordinating meetups or ensuring the smooth arrival of friends and family, location sharing adds an extra layer of convenience to your messaging experience.

This step-by-step guide will help you to easily share your location with other contacts on WhatsApp. 

Also read: How to send view-once voice messages in WhatsApp

Types of location sharing on WhatsApp

There are two types of location sharing on WhatsApp: Current location and Live location

Current Location

The current location feature allows you to share your current precise location or a nearby place with other contacts.

Live location

The live location feature allows you to share your real-time location for a specific amount of time. You can choose how long you want to share your live location and can stop sharing your live location at any time. 

Also read: WhatsApp launches voice chat feature for large groups: Here’s how to use it

How to share location on WhatsApp

To share your location on WhatsApp, first, you need to enable location permissions for WhatsApp in your phone’s Settings. After that, follow the below steps.

How to share location on WhatsApp from Android

Step 1: Open the WhatsApp app.

Step 2: Open an individual or group chat.

Step 3: Tap the attachment option (clip icon).

Step 4: Select the Location option.

Step 5: Now, choose the ‘Share live location option’ or ‘Send you current location’ option.

Step 6: (Only for the live location feature) If you choose the Share live location option, select the length of time you’d like to share your live location. Optionally, you can also add a comment. Then, hit send.

How to share location on WhatsApp from iOS

Step 1: Open the WhatsApp app.

Step 2: Open an individual or group chat.

Step 3: Tap the plus icon. 

Step 4: Select the Location option.

Step 5: Now, choose the ‘Share live location’ option or ‘Send you current location’ option.

Step 6: (Only for the live location feature) If you choose the Share live location option, select the length of time you’d like to share your live location. Optionally, you can also add a comment. Then, hit send.

It’s important to note that these features are end-to-end encrypted, which means no one can see your location except the people you shared with. By granting access to your location data, which includes IP address, GPS, Bluetooth signals, and network data, you agree to WhatsApp’s collection and processing of this information to provide precise location based features. You can stop sharing your location or disable access to your location data at any time.