The new feature will let users share their live location status with family and friends on WhatsApp. WhatsApp says the location sharing service is end-to-end encrypted and can be turned on or off at the user's discretion.
Facebook-owned WhatsApp is rolling out a new 'Live Location' feature for Android and iOS users. The feature allows WhatsApp users to share location in real-time with family or friends. As per WhatsApp, the feature will be rolling out to the app in the coming weeks.
The company also highlighted the fact that the new location sharing feature is end-to-end encrypted and lets people control who they share their whereabouts with and for how long. Users can choose to stop sharing their location at any time or let the Live Location timer simply expire.
"The Live Location feature in WhatsApp makes women feel confident about sharing their real-time location or a journey with someone close, so that it can be tracked for a purpose and privately," said Sohini Bhattacharya, CEO of Breakthrough, a non-profit organisation, in a statement on Wednesday.
How to use WhatsApp Live Location
This is how the new Live Location on WhatsApp works – Open a chat window with the person or group you want to share with. Under "Location" in the attach button, there's a new option to "Share Live Location". Choose for how long you want to share and tap send. Each person in the chat will be able to see your real-time location on a map. If more than one person shares their Live Location in the group, all locations will be visible on the same map.
"For women, in unsafe and dangerous situations, it may be a helpful tool for police officials and families, as real-time locations can be shared easily in WhatsApp," said Ranjana Kumari from Centre for Social Research.
With inputs from Digit NewsDesk
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