Google Unveils new app, Trusted Contacts lets you share your location with friends and family
Google has released a new Android app
that lets you track your contacts’ whereabouts in real time — as long as they
allow it, of course. Dubbed Trusted Contacts,
the company is pitching it as a service to make sure your loved ones know where
you are in case of an emergency or just are late home.
“To help you
feel safe and give your friends and family peace of mind, today we’re launching
Trusted Contacts. This new personal safety app lets you share your location
with loved ones in everyday situations and when emergencies arise — even if
your phone is offline or you can’t get to it.”
The idea is
pretty straightforward: you select specific people in your address book as
"trusted contacts”, but unlike with iOS’ Find My Friends and Google’s now defunct Latitude,
your trusted contacts won’t necessarily be able to see your location whenever
they wish. Instead they’ll be able to see if you're "active" (your
phone is connected and moving), whether you were active in the past hour,
whether your device has a low battery or if it has run out of battery
altogether.
Trusted contacts can request your
location at any time and you will have 5 minutes to approve or decline it.
If there’s no response your real-time or last known location will be
automatically shared in order to "make sure that someone you trust will
know how to find you if you really are in trouble."
Conversely, you
can manually share your location with a friend or loved one should you want
them to know where you are as you walk home late at night. When you are done
sharing, simply tap the banner at the top of the screen or from the lock screen
and the app will stop sharing your location.
You can download Trusted Contacts in the Google Play Store.
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