How to share your location with a friend safely
Share your location safely by choosing one or two trusted people, turning on your phone's built-in location sharing for them only, and setting a time limit when you share for a single trip. Agree a simple check-in rule, such as a text when you arrive, and what they should do if you go quiet. Review who can see your location every few months.
Why it matters: A trusted-contact plan set up once makes every night out easier.
Steps
- Choose one or two people you trust and who will actually respond.
- Open your phone's location sharing settings and share with them only.
- For a single trip, use the option that shares for a set time or until you arrive.
- Agree a check-in rule: text on arrival, or every few hours on a night out.
- Agree what they will do if you miss a check-in: call you, then call a friend you are with, then call for help.
- Write the plan on your safety and admin card.
- Every few months, open the sharing settings and remove anyone who no longer needs access.
Stop and call a professional if
- someone can see your location that you did not add: follow the digital guides on location audits, and if it may be a partner or former partner, talk to a domestic violence hotline before removing it
Common mistakes
- Sharing indefinitely with too many people, including people you no longer trust.
- Sharing without a plan for what the other person should do.
- Forgetting to stop a one-time share afterward.
Teach this to someone
A one page sheet for showing a friend, a teenager or a parent: what to say, what to show, and one question to check it landed.
Teach: How to share your location with a friend safely
What to say
Share your location safely by choosing one or two trusted people, turning on your phone's built-in location sharing for them only, and setting a time limit when you share for a single trip. Agree a simple check-in rule, such as a text when you arrive, and what they should do if you go quiet. Review who can see your location every few months.
What to show
- Choose one or two people you trust and who will actually respond.
- Open your phone's location sharing settings and share with them only.
- For a single trip, use the option that shares for a set time or until you arrive.
- Agree a check-in rule: text on arrival, or every few hours on a night out.
- Agree what they will do if you miss a check-in: call you, then call a friend you are with, then call for help.
- Write the plan on your safety and admin card.
- Every few months, open the sharing settings and remove anyone who no longer needs access.
Where it stops
Stop and call a professional if someone can see your location that you did not add: follow the digital guides on location audits, and if it may be a partner or former partner, talk to a domestic violence hotline before removing it.
Check question
Who should you share your location with?
Answer: One or two trusted people. Fewer, trusted people means your location stays where you intend.
Your checklist
Saved only in this browser.
Quick quiz
Three questions. Your score is saved only in this browser.
Related skills
Sources
This skill is general practice and draws on no single published source.
Written in our own words from the sources above. It is general information, not advice for your situation; where a professional, your doctor or your lease says something different, follow them.
Last reviewed . First published .