Permanent location sharing: no more “where are you already?” calls

“Where are you already?” — “I'll be there in five minutes.” This exchange happens several times a week in families with kids: picking up from a club, waiting outside school, one person cooking while the other's on the way back from the store. Every one of those calls means digging out a phone while driving or with your hands full of bags. Yet both platforms can share location continuously and mutually: your partner just glances at a map and sees you're three minutes away. Nobody calls, nobody guesses.

An important principle: this only makes sense as voluntary and mutual. It's a logistics tool, not a monitoring one — and that's exactly how to frame it at home.

How to do it

Google Maps (Android and iPhone):

1. In Maps, tap your profile picture in the top right and choose Location sharing.
2. Tap New share, pick your partner from contacts, and instead of a time limit choose Until you turn this off.
3. Your partner does the same in return. You'll then find their location in the same place, under Location sharing.

iPhone (Find My app):

1. Open Find My → the People tab → Share My Location and select a family member.
2. Choose Share Indefinitely. If you use Family Sharing, the app suggests family members automatically.

Battery drain is negligible for both — location isn't sent continuously, but at intervals.

A typical scenario

Your daughter finishes practice at 5:30, and Dad's picking her up. But he's stuck in traffic. In the old days: she calls, he digs for his phone while driving, and Mom, meanwhile, doesn't know whether she should head out instead. Now both daughter and Mom check Maps — Dad's two kilometers away and moving, so he'll make it. Nobody called, nobody drove out needlessly, and Dad never touched his phone in the car.

It works the other way too: whoever's closer does the pickup. A quick glance at the map decides for you.

What you get out of it

Coordination calls disappear — nobody enjoys them, and they're unsafe in the car besides. You get peace of mind when someone's running late — you see they're getting closer instead of speculating. And for older kids with their own phone, a passive glance at a map is less invasive than a check-in call asking where they are and who they're with. The broader rules of a family's digital coexistence are covered in the Family Digital Hygiene chapter.

Pro tip

Sharing doesn't have to be permanent or family-only. When grandma or a friend is picking up your kid for once, share your location with them for that one occasion with a time limit — in Google Maps, choose, say, one hour instead of “until you turn this off,” and the share ends on its own. They see where you are and how long until you arrive, and you don't have to text “on my way, almost at the daycare” while driving.