Facebook Messenger has added a Live Location feature that allows users to share their movements with friends or family for up to an hour.
The company says the feature has been tested in a close group of users and they found it useful when coordinating meeting spots with friends, seeing how close someone is to the meeting place, and for peace of mind when another user walks home at night or visits somewhere dangerous.
Live Location can be shared with a group of friends or just one person.
To use the feature, users need to open the Messenger app and create a message for the person they want to share their location with. There will then either be a 'Location' icon, or it will be available as an option through the 'More' icon.
A map will then appear of the user's location. By sharing this, the other person will be able to see where the user is on the map for the next 60 minutes. The location-sharing can be stopped at any time by the user.
"It's still possible to share a static point on a map too," says Messenger product manager, Selena Wang. "For example, if you want to tell a friend which coffee shop to meet you at, tap the location pin or the More icon, and then instead of choosing Share Live Location, tap the red pin in the upper right hand corner.
"From there, you can search for a place to share, or you can drag-and-drop the pin on the map. Then, tap Send."
Live Location will start rolling out globally this week on both iOS and Android.
Share