Share location for a limited time on iPhone and Android
Want someone to see your location during a trip home or a meeting without sharing all day? Start with a session whose beginning, audience and end are clear. This guide explains how to prepare it and check what trusted contacts can actually see.
Choose what needs to be known
A single location answers where you are now. Live sharing can update the point for an interval; an arrival message reports the outcome of the journey. Choose for the purpose, rather than collecting more detail out of habit.
Agree who will check updates and what to do if they disappear. A map is not a rescue request and does not confirm someone is watching. A single point may be enough for a brief meeting.
Check app, contacts and availability
My Safe Circle live sharing is planned for version 2.2, currently in beta and not released in stores. These instructions describe that version; an older installed app may have no live command. Check your version before looking for it.
Recipients need an account and an approved Circle connection. The flow is shared across iPhone and Android, while permissions and background behaviour depend on the system. A pending invitation is not an approved recipient.
Set duration and audience
Open Share location from Home. Choose duration first: Free offers 15 minutes; Premium adds 1, 2, 4 and 8 hours. Use the shortest suitable interval without assuming your battery or connection will last that long.
Select Everyone, individual Contacts or a Group. Everyone means your approved Circle, not everyone with your phone number. With no recipients, Start sharing is disabled. Add an optional message for context and leave out unnecessary sensitive details.
Start and check the point
Grant location access and press Start sharing. Without permission, the session cannot begin. Background access may support continuity and recovery but does not guarantee restart after force quitting or power restrictions.
The active screen shows a map, remaining duration and Last location captured. The latter starts from GPS capture, not upload. Ask one recipient to check the correct session before relying on your configuration for a journey.
Read the times without treating them as proof
Remaining duration counts down to expiry. Location age increases until a new point arrives: 00:02:00 means the data was captured two minutes ago. It does not mean the person is stationary or in trouble.
Even a recent point may be inaccurate, especially indoors. If the information is insufficient, use an agreed call or message. For live location that stops updating, check age, network and permissions before granting broader access.
End sharing and distinguish retention
Press Stop when the session is no longer needed; it also ends at expiry. Stop halts local GPS even offline, but stopping for all recipients remains unconfirmed until the server responds. Check the result rather than assuming the request finished.
Stopping updates does not automatically erase a retained location. In version 2.2, account consent governs retention without another session toggle. Read the difference between stopping, withdrawing and deleting before deciding what stays available.
Further guides for your question
- Live location or current location: which should you share?
- Shared location shows the wrong place: what to check
- Live location: how to measure battery and data use
- Live location and route history: what differs?
- Does live location show a building floor?
- How long should you share live location?
- Who can see my live location in My Safe Circle?
- Cannot start live location: what is missing?
- Live location after SOS: does it start automatically?
- How to follow a live location shared with you
- Live location between iPhone and Android: what appears?
- Live location groups: who to include and when
- Share live location to meet in a crowd
- Live location on a car trip: set up before driving
- Live location while hiking: prepare before leaving
- Live location for running and cycling: prepare first
- Live location at airports and stations: finding someone
- Live location abroad: prepare mobile data and roaming
- Google Maps or My Safe Circle for live location?
- Apple Find My or My Safe Circle for location sharing?
- Live location without permanent retention
- New All OK, old location: how to read both
- Live location on multiple devices: which session?
- Report location problems without exposing coordinates
Frequently asked questions
Does it work between iPhone and Android?
In My Safe Circle 2.2, approved recipients can use either platform. The feature is still in beta, and permissions and background recovery differ between systems.
Does the recipient need the app?
Yes. My Safe Circle requires an account and an approved Circle connection. It is not a public link that anyone can forward.
Does Stop erase the last location?
No. It stops session updates. Retention follows account consent; withdrawal and erasure of separate copies are different operations.
Sources consulted
Technical and safety information was checked against the following official sources.
Guide by the My Safe Circle team, written from the app manual and checked on October 4, 2026 against the listed sources.
ONE SESSION, NOT YOUR WHOLE DAY
Prepare sharing with a clear end
Check version 2.2 availability and read the manual before trying live sharing.
Explore My Safe CircleMy Safe Circle helps contact trusted people. It is not an emergency dispatch centre and cannot guarantee delivery, reading or intervention. For immediate danger, call your local emergency number.