WhatsApp recently announced a new live location sharing feature, with this feature users will not only be able to share their current location with other users but also let their friends track them in real-time. The Facebook-owned messaging platform said that it will roll out this live location sharing feature in the upcoming days for both Android and iOS users.
With this latest feature, WhatsApp is aiming at letting people know that their friends and family members are safe. Explaining the key thought behind live location sharing, WhatsApp notes: "Whether you're meeting up with friends, letting loved ones know you're safe, or sharing your commute."
Here is how it works:
You can now set the time. This is for how long you wish to share your location with your selected contact. The minimum time is 15 min. Below the timings, you can also send any message that you wish to and click on the send icon.
There's also a 'Stop sharing' option. With this, you can stop sharing your live location whenever you want.
The new sharing feature is end-to-end encrypted, which means that the location that you share will be between you and the contact you share with and no one else can access that information. "When end-to-end encrypted, your messages, photos, videos, voice messages, documents, status updates, and calls are secured from falling into the wrong hands," explains WhatsApp. "This end-to-end encrypted feature lets you control who you share with and for how long. You can choose to stop sharing at any time or let the Live Location timer simply expires," adds WhatsApp.
You also have to option to share your location with either individual users or groups.
