As it turns out Pokémon Go is far more social than Niantic Labs expected (and obviously even more popular) so the need to share your Pokémon Go location with other players can appear quite often.
What if you find an area that’s loaded with Pokémon and you’d like to call some of your friends there? Or maybe someone just dropped a Lure at a crowded Pokéstop. Or you need some help to take over a Gym. You get the point.
Easy ways to share your Pokémon Go location on Android and iOS devices
While there’s no location-sharing feature included in the game, there are plenty of apps and OS functions you can use to share your Pokémon Go location with others in both Android and iOS devices. We’ll go through some of the most convenient ways to do this below, so take your pick!
Share your Pokémon Go location on iPhone and iPad
iOS has a few ways for sharing location baked into the operating system, and while there are more, these are obviously the quickest and most convenient.
Apple Maps
Apple Maps is a stock app, so it’s right there at your fingertips. Just launch it, tap on the location arrow (to find your current location) or drop a pin on the map if you’d like to send a different location then tap on the Share button in the upper-right corner of the screen.
The Share sheet will open and from there you can share your location via several channels, including Messages, Email and social apps like Facebook and Twitter.
iMessage
The beauty of iOS is that stock apps flawlessly integrate with one another. So you can share your Pokémon Go location directly in iMessage without even opening the Maps app.
Open the Messages app, then tap on the conversation in which you’d like to share your location.
In the upper-right corner of the screen, select the Details option. Here, you have two choices: you can use ‘Send My Current Location’ – this is a one-time option that simply sends your current location to the recipient.
Or you can opt for the ‘Share My Location’ feature, in which case you will get a pop-up menu from where you can choose to share your location for one hour, until the end of the day, or indefinitely. And if at some point you want to stop sharing your location return to the Details menu and select ‘Stop Sharing My Location’.
Share your Pokémon Go location on Android
It’s just as easy to share your location on Android, as it is in iOS and the one universal way to do it is through….
Google Maps
Might I add, Google Maps is also available as an iOS app so even those who own an iPhone or an iPad can use it if they’d rather not employ the stock methods included in Apple’s mobile ecosystem.
Launch Google Maps, tap on the floating action button (in the lower-right corner of the screen) to pinpoint your current location or select a different location on the map and then tap on the ‘Share’ option.
Android’s Share menu offers you myriad ways to send a location to someone else (this also depends on what apps you have installed) so just take a pick!
Third-party apps to share your Pokémon Go location
Location sharing is included in many dedicated and non-dedicated apps so as long as you have one of these installed, you and your Pokémon Go player friends will be able to exchange location data with ease.
Facebook (Android, iOS)
The Facebook app has a feature called ‘Nearby Friends’. It lets you see the current neighborhood where friends or family members are currently in and vice versa. However, you can also share your exact location for the duration of your choice with any of your ‘Nearby Friends’.
Facebook Messenger (Android, iOS)
Facebook Messenger also has a location-sharing feature which you can access directly in a conversation.
WhatsApp (Android, iOS)
Open a WhatsApp conversation in which you’d like to share your Pokémon Go location, tap on the paperclip icon and select ‘Location’. From the following menu you can either share your current location or that of a nearby business, which may come in handy if you wish to send the location of a Gym or Pokéstop.
Hangouts (Android, iOS)
The location-sharing feature of Hangouts works pretty much like the one available in WhatsApp, letting you send your current position or that of a nearby business inside a conversation.
Glympse (Android, iOS)
Glympse is a GPS location sharing app available for both Android and iOS. The app was designed to let a group of users see each other’s whereabouts until they reach a specific destination (useful for event planning but also to meet your friends at a Pokéstop).
Find My Friends (Android only)
Find My Friends (not to be mistaken with the iOS app, which almost no one uses) lets you easily share your location and your friend(s) can track it and receive navigation instructions which may come in handy when you’re in an unfamiliar urban area.
Messenger for Pokémon Go (Android only)
If you’ve tried GoChat (the first messenger app for Pokémon Go) and quit using it because of the server overload you might want to test Messenger for Pokémon Go. This app works a bit better and was designed more carefully. I covered both Find My Friends and Messenger for Pokémon Go in our best companion apps for Pokémon Go roundup (which I recommend you read) , so I won’t get into too many details here.
However, you should be aware that Messenger for Pokémon Go has a built-in location sharing option but you can only get to enjoy it if you’re an Android user.
What other methods (or apps) have you used to share your Pokémon Go location with other players and which one works best for you?
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