New Google Trusted Contacts Share Your Location With Loved Ones in Real Time
Google’s new Trusted Contacts app and service ensures that your loved ones always know where you are, or can know where you are in the event of an emergency. It’s available on both sides, shares in real time only when you want it, and can end the “where are you, are you okay?” SMS when someone is late for home or for a meeting.
This feature is launched today, and after installing it, you can assign the “trusted” status to one or as many contacts as you like. Once you do, that person can add you back to share their location with you or request your location at any time. Then, if they ask for your location, you have the option to share or reject it, but if you don’t, your location will be automatically shared with them after five minutes. The goal is to give your loved ones or emergency contacts the ability to know where you are, even if you are disabled or cannot reach or use your phone.
The app also lets you broadcast your location to a trusted contact or receive real-time location updates from a trusted contact. When you share it, they will receive a notification that you are sharing your location with them, and vice versa. Tap on it to launch Google Maps on your phone and see how their point moves across the map. So if you’re going home from work and want your spouse to see where you are at home, you can share that with them so they can watch in real time as you go home. (Which, ideally, would eliminate those “you can pick up milk from the store” messages after you’ve walked past the store.) Real-time sharing only works when you want it. You can share your location in real time whenever you want, and then turn it off and stop sharing it whenever you want.
I tested this feature a bit before it was launched and it is very useful from a security point of view, no doubt about it. I like the idea that if I can’t get to my phone or I’m in a situation where I can’t write, my girlfriend can call me when I’m late home and don’t answer, and can find out where I am answering even if I can’t. respond for any reason, such as a medical emergency or an accident. Likewise, I love the opportunity to find out if it’s okay for my father, who lives alone, to be away from me, even if he doesn’t answer the phone.
However, as with any similar location-sharing feature, privacy comes into play. Abusive spouses and partners can easily abuse this technology to spy on their victims and force them to constantly report their whereabouts so that they can watch their every move. Likewise, there is a whole gray area in which parents use similar technology to track their children instead of talking to them and trusting them, compared to parents who trust their children but also want to keep them safe. This is a double-edged sword and a tricky problem for which we have no solutions other than making sure we are all on the same page about what location sharing tools are capable of and how to leverage them.
On the other hand, location data is not shared with anyone unless it is explicitly added as a trusted contact, the other person assumes this responsibility and then also accepts location sharing and sharing requests. The app also doesn’t run in the background on your phone and you can find out how it works. It’s in the app drawer just like any other, and when shared – or when someone is sharing with you – keeps a persistent notification in the notification shade.
If you’re curious, check it out at the link below or read the Google blog post below to learn more about this feature and how it works.
Trusted Contacts (Free) | Google Play via Google Contacts and Google Official Blog