Location sharing is one of the ways to track and find someone location and so far it has really been helpful since it is available on both android phone and iPhone.
I use location sharing on my android phone and also on my iPhone, and I will explain the question being asked on if at all does sharing location use data, based on my experience using it on my samsung phone and iPhone.
Does sharing location use data?
Yes, sharing location to another person requires data or internet on both devices because location services requires internet connection.
To see someone’s location it requires data because it works with internet and through internet someone’s location can be viewed from one user to another.
Talking about data, it can be a mobile data or a Wi-Fi
If you don’t have an active data or internet network on your phone, you cannot share location with another person and also won’t be able to view the person’s location.
On iphone, location services must be enable before location sharing can work, while on android phone the user must enable location services/GPS/Maps.
To explain more on does sharing location use data, I will categorize it into how it works on android and iPhone.
Sharing location on iPhone
Sharing location on iPhone is very much easy and work on any Apple device like the iPad or Apple watch and you must an active internet connection on your iPhone, iPad or Apple watch before you can share location.
Before you can share locations with another Apple user, you must first enable location services and share my location. To enable location services on your iPhone or iPad, simply open the settings app and scroll down to Privacy & Security.
Open privacy &sr security, and the first you will see is Location Services. if you are running on ios 14 and above. Tap on location services and please make sure that you enable it on your device.
Now tap on share my Location and also make sure to enable it on your iPhone or iPad. Another way to enable share my location is by opening the settings app, tap on your profile, tap on find My and right there you will see share my location.
Once you have enabled these features, it time to start sharing location with your contacts or family members.
Remember that when you share location with someone, the person will be able to track your location and find out where you are. Irrespective of that I do share location with my close friends and immediate family members.
SHARING LOCATION
FAMILY MEMBERS
Get started by opening the settings app and tap on your profile, scroll down to family sharing and open it.
Right inside you will see the option to add family members that you want share location with or even any contact on your iPhone or iPad.
Go ahead and tap on Add member button, followed by invite people and on the options given to you, select messages, enter the contact and hit on the send button.
The recipient will receive the message, and upon tapping on the link the recipient will have to accept location with you.
THE EASY METHOD TO SHARE LOCATION
The easy ways to share location on iphone is through messages app and through contact.
Through Messages app
To share location with another user, open the messages app and locate the contact. If you have not had a conversation with contact you an start a conversation with the person.
Now tap on the person’s profile to show the contact details scroll a bit and you will see share my location.
Tap on share my location and you will see three options presented to you and they are;
- Share indefinitely
- Share until end of the day
- Share for one hour
Kindly select the option that suit you, click done and that’s it. You have started sharing location with that contact depending on the number of hours you selected.
Through Contact App
To share location with a contact on your iPhone, open the contact app and search for the very contact. Upon seeing the contact tap to open the contact details and right there you will see the option to share location with the contact.
Go ahead and tap on share my location and you are good to go.
Once you start sharing location with someone on your iPhone or iPad, the person will be notified about it. Afterwards the person can share location with you as well and both of you will see each other’s location.
Going back to the question being asked on does sharing location use data, if you don’t have an active internet connection you won’t be able to see the location of the person or contact you are sharing location with.
Nevertheless, you can share location with another person or contact only when you have an active internet connection like Wi-Fi or data on your iPhone and that can be done through messages app or contact app.
Sharing Location On Android
To share location on android is quite easy as well and only requires you to enable location on your android phone and make sure that you Google map is updated.
Now open your google map, tap on your profile and you will see where it states location sharing just like on the picture below.
Tap on location sharing and select the contact you want to share location with by tapping on new share.
A link will be made available to you and which you will have to send to the person. The person will have to open the link and accept the proposal of sharing location with you.
After that you can easily view the person location by opening the google map, tap on your profile picture and tap on location sharing. You will be presented will all the contacts you are sharing location with, and in turn view their current location.
Once again looking at the question of does sharing location use data, on android, you must have a data or an active internet connection to be able to share location on your android phone or tablet.
How much data does location sharing use?
Location Sharon use small amount of data like 25kbs to share data from one user to another.
However, to view the person’s will take about 5mb though it depends on the some factors which includes the number of minutes you were viewing the person’s location and if you enabled satellite.
On iPhone it is called hybrid view, the usually consume data compared to options to view someone’s location. But the truth is that tracking someone usint hybrid or satellite gives you a better view on the person’s location, building and street.
I use it very often except if the person happens to turn off location sharing and services on service on iPhone or location on android.
Yoi shouldn’t be bothered at the amount of data location sharing consume because it is very little compared to browsers and streaming apps like Netflix and YouTube.
Does sharing my location indefinitely use data?
The answer is yes. Location sharing indefinitely use data or I will say requires an active internet connection else no one will be able to see your location.
Once again you shouldn’t worry at the amount of data it takes because it is very little like 25kb if you are on a limited data plan.
However, viewing the person’s location might cost you some amount of data and which I have explained above.
Does google location sharing work without data?
The answer is no. Google location sharing work with data and also requires an active internet connection like Wi-Fi or cellular data.
You must enable location on your phone, open the google map, and tap on your profile. Right there you will see location sharing and you should proceed from there.
I’ve already explained that, and in case you didn’t see it scroll up and you will see how to share location on android.
How much data does google maps location sharing use?
Google map location sharing uses 50kbs to share location to another user on your android phone.
But to view the person’s location on your android phone using the Google map, it will take up to 7mbs per three minutes on satellite mode to see someone’s current location.
Does sharing location on whatsapp use data?
Yes it requires data and an active internet connection like Wi-Fi or cellular data else sharing of location on whatsapp won’t work.
Remember that Whatsapp requires internet connection to work, and if there’s no active internet connection on your phone, whatsapp won’t work and so location sharing.
Does sharing my location use battery?
Sharing location doesn’t necessarily use a lot of battery irrespective of the fact that it requires internet connection like Wi-Fi or cellular data unless you have your GPS enabled as well.
You shouldn’t bother yourself thinking that sharing location with someone will drain your batter as it won’t baed on my experience even when tracking someone on your android phone or iPhone.
Does Google location sharing drain battery?
Google location sharing will drain a phone battery if the GPS is always enabled on the android phone or tablet.
To prevent this from happening you should turn off location or GPS when not in need unless you don’t care about draining on your android phone or tablet.
However, if your device has a large battery capacity or life, you shouldn’t bother if at all does Google location sharing drain battery. I have the Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra and I don’t bother so much about draining while using location sharing on my phone.
Does sharing location use storage?
The simple answer is no. Sharing location does not use storage and this is applicable to android phone and the iPhone.
Related Questions
Does google map location sharing work without data?
Google map location sharing do work with data. Talking about data i mean cellular data or an active Wi-Fi connection.
And the is where I draw the conclusion on the question of the day, does sharing location use data. Once again sharing location requires data or an active internet connection like Wi-Fi or cellular data in order to share location from one user to another and this is applicable on both android phone and iPhone, android tablet and the iPad, Samsung watch and the Apple watch.
Now it is left for you to share location with your family members and friends unless you love excessive privacy and don’t share your location.