How to Share Live Location on Telegram

To share your live location on Telegram, open the chat, tap the attachment icon, choose Location, then choose to share your live location and pick how long it should last. The other person sees your position move on a map until the time runs out or you stop sharing, which takes two taps.

Live location is useful for meeting up, travelling home late or coordinating a group trip. It is also sensitive, so this guide covers how to stop it, who can see it and how to keep it from draining your battery.

Live location versus sending a location

Telegram has two location features, and people mix them up.

• Send a location shares one fixed point: where you are now, or a place you pick on the map. It never updates. Use it to say "meet me here".
• Share live location sends your real position and keeps updating it for a set time. Use it when you are moving and someone needs to follow along.

Both start from the same Location option in the attachment menu.

Before you start

1. Use the phone app. Sharing live location is a mobile feature, because it needs the phone's GPS. Telegram on a computer can show live locations others share, but you start sharing from your phone.
2. Allow location access. Telegram asks for permission the first time. For live location to keep updating when Telegram is in the background, the phone needs to allow location access while the app is not on screen.
3. Think about who is in the chat. In a private chat, one person sees your location. In a group, every member does.

How to share live location on Android

1. Open the private chat or group.
2. Tap the paperclip icon in the message bar.
3. Tap Location.
4. If asked, allow Telegram to use your location. For continuous updates, allow it all the time rather than only while using the app.
5. Tap the option to share your live location.
6. Choose how long to share. Telegram has offered fixed periods such as 15 minutes, 1 hour and 8 hours, and an option to share until you turn it off.
7. Your location appears in the chat as a live map, with a timer showing how long is left.

Android settings that stop live location

Some Android phones stop apps from using location in the background to save battery. If your shared location freezes when you lock the phone:

1. Open the phone's app settings for Telegram and set location permission to allow all the time.
2. In battery settings, set Telegram to unrestricted or not optimised.
3. Turn off any cleaner or booster app that closes background apps.

How to share live location on iPhone

1. Open the private chat or group.
2. Tap the paperclip icon.
3. Tap Location.
4. Allow location access if iPhone asks. For updates while Telegram is in the background, set Telegram's location access to Always in the iPhone's Settings, under Privacy and Security, then Location Services.
5. Choose Share My Live Location, or the similarly named option your version shows.
6. Pick the duration, including the option to share until you turn it off.
7. Your live location appears in the chat.

iPhone settings that matter

• Precise Location. If it is off for Telegram, others see an approximate area rather than your exact position. Turn it on in Telegram's location settings on the iPhone if you need accuracy.
• Low Power Mode. It reduces background activity, which can make updates less frequent.
• Background App Refresh. Leave it on for Telegram.

How to add more time

If you are running late, you do not need to start again. Telegram's own announcement of its live location updates says you can add more time to a location you are already sharing.

1. Open the chat where you are sharing.
2. Tap the live location bar at the top of the chat, or the live map message.
3. Look for the option to extend sharing, and choose how much time to add.

The exact control can differ between versions. If you do not see an option to extend, stop sharing and start again with a longer period.

How to stop sharing live location

Stopping is quick, and it is worth knowing before you start.

1. Open the chat where you are sharing. A bar at the top of the chat shows that your live location is active.
2. Tap the bar, or the live map message.
3. Tap the option to stop sharing.

If you are sharing in several chats at once, Telegram shows this too, and lets you stop sharing in all of them together. Live location also stops by itself when the chosen period ends.

What happens after you stop

The map message stays in the chat, showing the last position Telegram received. If you do not want that last position to remain, delete the message for everyone afterwards. Our guide on editing or deleting a sent message explains how.

Viewing someone else's live location

1. Open the chat. A bar or map message shows that someone is sharing.
2. Tap it to open the full map. You see their position, how recently it updated and how long sharing has left.
3. If several people in a group share at once, all of them appear on the same map, which is handy for a group meeting at one place.
4. From the map you can usually open directions in your phone's maps app.

Telegram has also offered proximity alerts on a live location map, letting you be notified when someone sharing their location comes within a distance you set. If your version shows a notify-me or alert option on the live map, that is the feature.

On Telegram Desktop or Web you can view live locations shared with you, but they may refresh less smoothly than on the phone.

Privacy and safety

Live location tells people exactly where you are, in real time. Treat it carefully.

• Share only with people you trust. Never share live location with someone you met recently online, a seller you do not know, or anyone pressuring you to share it.
• Be careful in groups. In a group, every member sees your location, including people you do not know well. A private chat is usually safer.
• Do not share in public groups. Anyone can join a public group and see your position.
• Choose a short period. Pick the shortest time that does the job. "Until I turn it off" is convenient but easy to forget.
• Check the bar at the top of chats. If you see the live location bar, you are still sharing.
• Delete the map message afterwards if you do not want your last position left in the chat.
• Know what Telegram says about it. Telegram's privacy policy explains that live location is shown to the people you share it with even when the app is closed, for as long as you keep the feature active.

Telegram's old People Nearby feature, which showed your account to strangers close by, was removed. Live location is not a replacement for it: it only goes to the chats you pick. Our article on People Nearby being removed explains what changed. For other settings that control what people can see, our privacy settings checklist is a good next step.

Battery and data

Live location uses GPS and sends small updates. A short share barely matters. A long share, especially until turned off, uses more battery.

• Share for the time you need, not longer.
• Expect updates to be less frequent when the phone is saving battery or has a weak signal.
• Location updates use little data compared with photos or video, but they continue in the background.

When live location does not work

The location does not move

Your position freezes on the other person's map.

1. Check that location permission for Telegram allows background use.
2. Turn off battery restrictions for Telegram.
3. Check that location services are on for the whole phone.
4. Open Telegram for a moment; this often pushes an update.

The option to share live location is missing

1. Update Telegram.
2. Check whether you are on a computer; start sharing from the phone instead.
3. In a channel, live location may not be available; it is designed for private chats and groups.
4. In some groups, admins restrict what members can send. If you cannot send media or other content there, you may not be able to share a location either.

The location is far from where you are

1. Turn on precise location for Telegram.
2. Step outside or near a window, since GPS works poorly indoors.
3. Turn Wi-Fi on even if not connected; phones use nearby networks to improve accuracy.

Worked examples

These are made-up scenarios showing sensible settings.

Example: walking home at night

Elena shares her live location with her sister for one hour as she walks home. When she arrives, she stops sharing and deletes the map message.

Example: meeting friends at a festival

A group of five friends shares live location in their small private group for eight hours. Everyone appears on one map, and they use it to find each other near the stage. At the end of the day, each person stops sharing.

Example: a delivery from a stranger

A seller Jamal met in a marketplace group asks for his live location to "find the house". Jamal sends a fixed location of a public meeting spot instead and keeps his live location private.

Common mistakes

• Choosing "until I turn it off" and forgetting. Check for the live location bar, or choose a fixed period.
• Sharing in a large group. Everyone in the group sees your location.
• Only allowing location "while using the app". Your position freezes when you leave Telegram.
• Leaving the last position in the chat. Delete the map message if it matters.
• Sharing with someone you do not know well. Send a fixed public meeting point instead.

FAQ

How long can I share live location on Telegram?

Telegram offers fixed periods, such as 15 minutes, 1 hour and 8 hours, and an option to share until you turn it off. You can also add more time to a share that is running.

Can the other person see my location when Telegram is closed?

Yes, if your phone allows Telegram to use location in the background. Telegram keeps updating your position until the time runs out or you stop.

Can I share live location from Telegram Desktop?

Sharing needs the phone's GPS, so you start it from the mobile app. Desktop and Web can view live locations others share.

Does Telegram tell me who is viewing my live location?

No. Everyone in the chat can open the map. That is why it matters which chat you share in.

Does stopping live location delete the message?

No. The map stays, showing your last position. Delete it for everyone if you do not want it kept.

Summary

Share live location from the attachment menu's Location option in a private chat or group, pick a duration, and allow background location so it keeps updating. Add time from the live location bar if you need more, and stop sharing from the same bar with two taps. Share only with people you trust, prefer private chats over groups, choose the shortest period that works, and delete the map message afterwards if you do not want your last position kept. For other ways to protect your privacy on Telegram, see who can see you in channels and groups.