A ranked, honest roundup for groups meeting in one place, including which to skip. Most people should use something they already have installed.
Most roundups of this kind list twelve apps and recommend all of them. This one is organised around a less flattering truth: most groups should not install anything.
The tools already on your phone handle the majority of cases. A dedicated app earns its place only when you hit a specific limit. So here is the ranking, with the limits stated.
Free, encrypted, cross-platform, and already installed. Share to the group chat for 15 minutes, 1 hour, or 8 hours, and everyone in that chat sees you move. If several people share, they all appear on the same map.
Limits: every person must enable it individually and half the group will forget. No shared destination. Eight hours maximum.
Use it when: the group chat exists and the plan is short. Which is most of the time.
Free, cross-platform, and the only mainstream option offering until you turn this off. Right for family, a long drive, or a genuine ongoing arrangement.
Limits: person-to-person rather than a group view, needs a Google account on both sides, no shared destination. “Until you turn this off” reliably becomes months.
Excellent, free, deeply integrated, and completely useless the moment one person has Android. Worth knowing precisely so you stop suggesting it in mixed groups.
Sends a temporary link the recipient opens in a browser, with nothing installed, expiring within a few hours.
Limits: the recipient is a viewer, not a participant - they watch you, you do not see them. Half the problem for a converging group.
Place alerts, driving reports, ongoing circles. Genuinely good at that job.
Limits: subscription for the useful parts, always-on by design, and a privacy history worth reading up on before committing. See Life360 alternatives.
We build this one, so discount accordingly.
One person starts a meetup, drops a shared destination pin, and sends a link. Friends open it in the app or in any browser - iPhone or Android - type a name, and join as full members who can see and be seen. No account, no install for anyone but the host. Live ETA per person, a notice when someone is within 50 metres, group chat on the map. Up to ten people, two hours, positions never stored, free.
Limits: the app is Android-only today, so iPhone users are on the browser version. No ongoing sharing, no friends list, no history. Not a family-safety product.
| Situation | Use |
|---|---|
| Group chat exists, short plan | |
| Ongoing, with consent | Google Maps |
| All-Apple household | Find My |
| One person tracking your arrival | Glympse |
| Teen driving safety | Life360 |
| Mixed group, one place, nobody will install | Nearby |
| No signal | None of them. Agree a landmark. |
That last row is not a joke - it is covered properly in what to do when the signal dies.
For the head-to-head detail rather than the ranking, see the full comparison.
Nearby is free on Google Play, and friends join from any browser.
For most groups, WhatsApp live location, because everyone already has it and the group chat already exists. Only move to something dedicated if you need a shared destination pin, longer sessions, or a way to include people who will not install anything.
Usually not. WhatsApp, Google Maps and Apple Find My cover the majority of cases for free with no extra install. Dedicated apps earn their place when you need a shared meeting point, browser joining, or features like place alerts.
Very few. Glympse lets a recipient view a link in a browser without an account, and Nearby lets people join a meetup from a browser with only a display name. Most others require sign-up on both sides.