It’s now easier than ever to let your friends know exactly where you are. WhatsApp has added live location sharing to its mobile apps, and promises to keep it secure with end-to-end encryption.

How many times have you arranged to meet up with friends and then received the “where are you?” message? You have to try to explain where you are, and if you’re in an unfamiliar place, that can be difficult. But not with live location sharing.

WhatsApp now lets you show your friends exactly where you are in real-time. You have complete control over who you share your location with and how long for, and you can disable it manually at any time. Like your conversations, it’s all protected by end-to-end encryption.

How to use it

The feature is incredibly simple to use. Just open a conversation with the person or group you wish you share your location with, then tap the attach button. Choose Location, then tap Share Live Location. You can then specify how long you want to share it for.

Each person in the chat will be able to see your real-time location on a map, and if more than one person in the group has used the feature, they will all be visible on the same map.

Get the update

To enjoy live location sharing, you’ll need to download the latest version of WhatsApp for Android and iPhone. It started rolling out on Tuesday, but WhatsApp says it will take several weeks to reach all of its 1 billion users.

Source: WhatsApp