It doesn’t take much for a get together, hike, sports event, or night out to become a stream of, “Where are you?” messages or frantic phone calls. That’s where live location sharing comes in handy. But permanent tracking feels excessive when you only need a few hours or days, and a temporary location sharing app might be a better fit.
Finding the right app depends on your needs. The best option lets you choose who can see your location, how long sharing lasts, and what happens when the session ends.
At iSharing, we built Meetup for exactly this kind of short-term coordination. But Meetup isn’t the only temporary location sharing option available.
We compared five popular tools based on factors like automatic session expiration, shared-map functionality, app requirements, device compatibility, and privacy controls, so you can find the one that best fits your lifestyle.
Five Popular Temporary Location Sharing Apps at a Glance
| App | Best For | Main Strength | Main Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| iSharing Meetup | Events and temporary groups | Scheduled sharing, group chat, no permanent friend requests | Participants join through iSharing |
| WhatsApp Live Location | Groups already using one chat | Familiar and easy to start | Limited planning controls |
| Glympse | Small groups and quick location links | Temporary links and browser viewing | Private Groups don’t close as one event |
| Life360 Temporary Circles | Trips lasting several days | Shared map with multi-day durations | App and account required |
| Google Maps | Simple location and trip sharing | No specialist tracking app required | Everyone manages sharing separately |
What Should You Look For in a Group Location Sharing App?
What is your group doing?
Weekend away? Having everyone visible on one map for several days might be handy.
Taking your teen to a concert? A session that starts at a set time and ends when the concert finishes might make more sense.
There’s no right or wrong answer here. You just need to look for features that work with your social life.
Things like:
- Clear end time
- Simple invitations
- Device availability
- Privacy controls
- An easy way to stop sharing early
Top Temporary Location Sharing App Options
The best group location sharing app for you should solve the coordination problem you keep running into without asking people to share more information than the situation calls for…or that they’re comfortable with.
iSharing Meetup: Best Overall for Temporary Groups
We designed Meetup for people who need to see one another for a particular event without becoming permanent friends in the app.
The host creates a Meetup and gives it a name. They choose a date and time, and then invite participants with a code or link. You have the option of inviting up to 30 people, all who appear on a shared map.
Sharing your location can make you feel vulnerable, but the host can require approval before someone joins the Meetup, keeping everyone comfortable. This feature makes it perfect for clubs, group trips, sports teams, trick-or-treating, or events with a changing participant list.
Meetup also includes a built-in group chat, allowing participants to coordinate plans and share updates without switching between apps. There’s no need to add participants as permanent friends.
A Meetup can run anywhere from 1 minute to 30 days. When the scheduled time ends, location sharing stops automatically, and the Meetup record is deleted after 7 days. The feature also works across iPhone and Android devices.
Meetup stands out because it’s built around the event itself. You can schedule it in advance, control who joins, give the session a clear purpose, and let it end automatically.
Choose iSharing Meetup when: You want advance scheduling, a shared group map, host control, and no permanent connections.
WhatsApp Live Location: Best for Existing Group Chats
WhatsApp is a convenient option when you already have a group chat going. Each participant can share their live location with the chat for a selected period, and stop sharing whenever they choose.
Live locations are covered by WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption, which means no one can see your location except the people you shared it with. Having locations in the group chat also makes it easy to discuss routes, delays, and changing plans in the same conversation.
Using an existing chat or creating a new one is easy and familiar, but there are a few limitations to using WhatsApp.
- Each member will need to manually start and share their own location.
- There’s no separate event host or advanced scheduling option.
- It is a group chat, not a purpose-built location-sharing feature that closes and removes itself once the event ends.
Choose WhatsApp when: Your group already communicates there and needs a quick location-sharing option without setting up another service.
Glympse: Best for Small Groups and App-Free Viewers
Glympse has long been focused on temporary location sharing.
Users can send an expiring link that lets someone view their live location through a browser, which means the viewer doesn’t always need to download the app.
For those that have the app, though, they can use the Glympse Private Groups feature. It’s an invite-only map for up to 10 signed-in members. You can share your live location, request someone else’s location, and see who is actively sharing. It’s perfect for carpools, small teams, road trips, or hiking groups.
There are a few things to know about Private Groups:
- It’s an ongoing space rather than a single host-controlled event.
- All members have equal permissions and can edit group settings, invite or remove members, and leave the group at any time.
- The group doesn’t automatically disappear when an outing ends.
- Each person controls whether they are actively sharing their location.
Choose Glympse when: You need flexible temporary links or a small private group, especially when browser viewing would make sharing easier.
Life360 Temporary Circles: Best for Multi-Day Trips
The Temporary Circles feature from Life360 places everyone who accepts an invitation on a shared map for a selected period.
The preset durations make this option less flexible for a short dinner or afternoon activity. However, it’s a great option for vacations, college tours, destination weddings, tournaments, and other plans lasting at least a full day because you can set it up for one to five days, or one to two weeks.
The location sharing stops when the Circle expires, but members have the option to keep sharing their location or to create another Circle.
Something to note with Temporary Circles is that everyone joining must download the Life360 app and sign in or create an account.
Choose Life360 Temporary Circles when: Your group wants shared visibility for several days or weeks and everyone is comfortable joining the Life360 ecosystem.
Google Maps: Best for Simple Location and Trip Sharing
Google Maps is another simple temporary location sharing option perfect for groups. It works well when a few people need basic live location or trip-in-progress sharing.
You can choose how long to share your location with your selected Google contacts. You can also send a link to someone who doesn’t have a Google account with link-based real-time sharing available for up to 24 hours.
Google Maps allows users to share their destination, current location, route progress, and estimated arrival time. And when they reach their destination or stop navigation, sharing ends. It’s a useful tool for pickups, road trips and meeting at unfamiliar places.
Unlike a dedicated location-sharing app, Google Maps is less streamlined when everyone needs to see everyone else’s location, because each participant must manage their own recipients, links, and sharing duration.
Choose Google Maps when: You need straightforward temporary location sharing between a few people rather than a managed group session.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is temporary location sharing?
Temporary location sharing allows you to share your real-time location for a limited period instead of continuously. It’s useful for group trips, concerts, outdoor activities, and other events where location sharing is only needed for a few hours or days.
Can you share your location without adding friends?
Yes. Apps like iSharing Meetup allow participants to join a temporary location-sharing group through an invitation link or QR code, without adding each other as permanent friends. Location sharing automatically stops when the Meetup ends.
Can iPhone and Android users share locations with each other?
Yes. Several location-sharing apps, including iSharing, WhatsApp, Life360, and Google Maps, support location sharing between iPhone and Android devices. With iSharing Meetup, participants can view each other’s real-time locations on a shared map, regardless of their device.
Which Temporary Location Sharing App is Best for You?
Temporary location sharing apps should make an outing easier without creating access that lasts longer than anyone expected or is comfortable with.
For groups that want that convenience in one purpose-built session, iSharing Meetup offers a particularly strong balance of planning, privacy, and control.
Planning a Group Event? Try iSharing Meetup!
Whether you’re organizing a group trip, hiking adventure, or weekend outing, iSharing Meetup makes it easy to stay connected without permanent location sharing.
Create a Meetup, invite participants with a link or QR code, and share real-time locations only for as long as you need.
Try iSharing Meetup for Free →
