How to Share Your Location on Facebook Messenger 1

How to Share Your Location on Facebook Messenger

Messaging apps get more features with each new update, and now the Facebook Messenger app for iOS and Android includes the ability to send a friend a map with your location.

There are many reasons why you might want to send a friend your location. Maybe you’re meeting each other at a restaurant and he doesn’t know where. You can search for him on Facebook Messenger and send him a map of his whereabouts. You can also send a map of your own location to tell a friend that you have your back and when to expect you to arrive.

Previously, Facebook was tracking your location automatically if you had location services enabled for the app; this meant that with every message you send, your location is also sent. Your recipient can easily tap your message and a map will appear showing where you were when you sent the message.

Sure, you were able to prevent the app from accessing your location, but that still wasn’t making everything right. Almost any app that tracks your location this way will get a lot of criticism when they find out about users, and it looks like it’s finally happening for Facebook.

The company has since ditched this feature in favor of this new location feature, which is a bit more user-friendly, where you control when a buyer can see your location.

If that’s something that interests you, here’s how to share your location with your friends on Facebook Messenger.

on iPhone/iOS

It only takes a few steps to send your location to someone via Facebook Messenger and it’s really easy to do.

First, when you’re in a conversation window, tap the More icon (it’s the three-dot icon).

From there, tap on it at the top and a new screen will open. You can tap or choose from the list of places below to send your friend your current location. If the place you want to meet is not listed, you can search using the search bar at the top.

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Once you know which location to use, tap in the upper right corner. After you send them some kind of location, it appears as a small map in the conversation pane. From there they can tap on the map and then get directions using Google Maps or Apple Maps.

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Of course, you need to enable location services for Facebook Messenger on your iPhone first. To do this, go to Facebook Messenger in the application list and then find it. Tap on it and then select .

This gives Facebook Messenger app access to your location when you want to use the new location feature within the app.

on Android

With Facebook Messenger for Android, sending someone your location works almost the same as on iPhone.

Simply tap the ellipses and then select . From there you can send them your current location or the location of a restaurant or other establishment. Once received, it will also appear as a small map in the conversation pane where they can get directions using Google Maps.

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Again, this feature is only enabled when the user requests it. Facebook got rid of automatic location tracking (possibly negative customer feedback) and introduced a better way of doing things.

Just like on iPhone, you need to enable location services in Android settings for Facebook Messenger before you can share your location with a friend within the app.

Of course, Facebook Messenger isn’t the only messaging app with this kind of capability. Apple’s own iMessage comes with the ability to send your location directly from within the app, but unfortunately you can’t send the location of any other locale, so Facebook has the edge here.

Facebook Messenger has loads of other features, including the ability to send photos, emojis, voice messages, and even send money to a friend through the app. You can also video chat and call your friends over WiFi.