How to Share Live Location From iPhone to Android, With Clear Stop Times

Start with Crew when the group wants outing plans, a chat map, and manual check-ins in one place. Crew is on iPhone, and Android participants need approved beta access. If the group needs cross-platform sharing without beta approval, Google Maps and WhatsApp are the alternatives covered below.

It depends on whether the group needs a map for the whole outing or a short, time-limited update in a chat. For a group outing, a clear agreement can be as simple as: "Share from 8:00 p.m. until everyone is home, then turn it off." Location sharing is optional. It should help the group coordinate a plan, not become constant access to someone's whereabouts.

Crew is built around planning outings with friends, intentional map visibility inside a chat, and manual check-ins. Each chat has its own switch labeled Show my presence on this chat map. When it is on, you see "You are visible on this map" with a Hide me option. When off, you see "You are hidden from this map" with Show me.

Choosing Hide me in one chat stops routine sharing in that chat only, not in your other chats. Crew has no scheduled sharing timer or automatic plan-end shutoff. At the agreed stop time, hide yourself manually in each chat where you were visible, then post your confirmation message.

Join the Android beta interest list

Android access is through the beta interest list. Crew reviews requests, adds approved testers manually, and emails opt-in instructions. Sending a request does not give immediate access.

Google Maps works when you have an iPhone and the recipient has an Android phone.

1. Open Google Maps on the iPhone and sign in to your Google Account.
2. Tap your profile picture or initial, then choose Location sharing.
3. Tap New share.
4. Choose a duration that matches the plan.
5. Choose the person, then tap Share.

If the recipient's Gmail address is in your Google Contacts, you can share with them directly. If they do not use a Google Account, share a link instead. Anyone with the link can view your location for up to 24 hours, so send it only to the person you mean and ask them not to forward it. A direct share to an account is tied to that person. A link is tied to whoever holds it.

Recipients can see your name and photo, your recent device location, and your battery level and charging state. They can also see arrival and departure times if they add a Location Sharing notification. To stop, open your profile, then Location sharing, pick the recipient, and tap Stop. Choose a set duration over Until you turn this off, and stop manually if the event ends early. Allow location access using your iPhone's current permission controls, rather than granting more than the plan needs.

WhatsApp suits groups already coordinating in a chat. Both the sender and the recipient use WhatsApp, in an individual or group chat.

1. Open the chat and tap the plus (Attach) button.
2. Tap Location, then Share live location.
3. Choose from the durations the app offers.
4. Tap Send.

Sharing stops at the duration you picked, or early from the chat: tap Stop sharing, then Stop sharing again. After it ends, live updates cease, but the static map thumbnail with the last updated location stays in the chat. It is not erased. WhatsApp needs location permission, so use your iPhone's current permission settings.

A group chat may include more people than need the location. If one friend is coordinating a pickup, share with that person only.

Do not leave "until I turn it off" as an unspoken default. Name the stopping point before the group leaves.

• "Share until we meet at the restaurant."
• "Share until the concert ends."
• "Share until everyone confirms they are in a ride home."
• "Share until 11:30 p.m., then ask before extending."

If plans change, ask before extending a share or adding anyone. A new agreement beats assumed access.

Apple states that ongoing Live Location through Find My or Messages requires both people to have an iPhone running iOS 15 or later. That is not an iPhone-to-Android live-sharing method. A static pin sent in Messages is a single point in time and does not update. Apple Maps also offers an ETA-sharing workflow, which Apple says includes live location along the route. It is different from Find My's ongoing sharing. For a mixed group, consider Crew if the Android participants have approved beta access; otherwise pick Google Maps or WhatsApp. Test the chosen app before leaving.

1. Who is sharing? Each person opts in for themselves.
2. Who can see it? Name the friend, group, or chat.
3. Why are we sharing? Meeting up, finding a venue, coordinating rides.
4. When does it start? A real point, like leaving home.
5. When does it stop? An end time or event, like everyone being home.
6. What if plans change? Ask before extending or adding recipients.
7. What is the backup? A meeting point, a check-in time, and who to call if someone loses signal or battery.