How to share your location with family while you travel

It needs data, not a phone number

Google lists what location sharing needs: a Google account, a mobile device, an active internet connection and the device's location setting on. Nothing about calls or SMS. Apple's Live Location works the same way through Find My or Messages, as long as both people have an iPhone with iOS 15 or later. Neither company publishes how much data sharing uses.

That makes a data-only travel eSIM a good fit: your position goes out over the travel line while your number stays on your usual SIM. If you have two lines on the phone, check that mobile data is set to the travel eSIM, otherwise the updates go through your home plan; the dual SIM guide shows where that setting is.

On iPhone: Find My or Messages

In Find My, open the Me tab and turn on Share My Location. Then go to the People tab, tap the Add button and choose Share My Location to pick a person. Apple lets you share for an hour, until the end of the day, indefinitely or for a custom period. If you are in a Family Group, family members who share with you already appear there.

In Messages, tap the plus button in a conversation, then Location, and choose the same kind of duration. The people you share with can see your Live Location in Find My, Maps, your contact card and Messages, get directions to you, and set a notification for when you arrive somewhere or leave. If someone asks for a recurring notification, you have to accept it first.

On Android, or a family with both: Google Maps

• Open Google Maps, signed in to your Google account.
• Tap your profile picture or initial, then Location sharing, then New share.
• Choose how long to share, pick the person and tap Share.

Google's steps add that the person needs a Gmail address in your Google Contacts. For someone without a Google account, the same screen has Copy to clipboard, which gives you a link to paste into WhatsApp or an email; Google says a link shares your real-time location for up to 24 hours. People you share with see your name and photo, your recent location, your battery level and whether the phone is charging.

Share the journey, not the whole holiday

Not every situation needs ongoing sharing. For a night bus or a drive between towns, Google Maps can share trip progress: start navigation, swipe up on the information card and tap Share trip progress. The person sees your destination, arrival time and position, and sharing stops when you arrive or end navigation. Apple Maps does the same with Share ETA during driving, cycling or walking directions.

On iPhone, Check In in Messages is the lighter option for a late walk back to the apartment. Apple says it does not share your location by default: it tells your contact when you arrive, and only if there is an unexpected delay and you do not respond does it share your current location, network signal and battery.

Limits worth knowing before you leave

Google says location sharing is not available in every country or region, so if you see a warning when opening it abroad, that may be the reason. Accounts that Google's systems think belong to someone under 18 cannot share for more than 24 hours, and accounts managed by a parent work through Family Link. Location sharing settings are per device and per account, so set it up on the phone you are actually taking.

On iPhone, deleting the Find My app does not stop sharing; Apple says you have to reinstall it and stop sharing from there. To pause everything at once, open Find My, go to the Me tab and turn off Share My Location. Sharing a phone's position all day also has a cost in battery, which the battery guide covers.

When there is no signal at all

Sharing only updates while the phone has a connection, so in a valley or on a boat your family sees the last position until you are back in coverage. Apple adds one exception: when you share your ongoing location, you can also share it via satellite when you are somewhere without Wi-Fi and cellular coverage, on the iPhone models and in the countries where Apple offers satellite features.

For hikes and remote areas, agree beforehand on what silence means, and know how to reach emergency services; this guide on calling for help with no signal explains the options. Families travelling together can also use one phone's hotspot for the others; the family travel guide looks at that setup.