this post was submitted on 25 Jul 2025
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[–] detren@sh.itjust.works 99 points 2 days ago (3 children)

My girlfriend and I share our locations mainly for convenience and safety. It’s nice to know that she’s 3 tram stops away from home so I can start cooking dinner for example. She’s also terrible at responding to texts and calls though lol

[–] Evotech@lemmy.world 41 points 2 days ago

Yeah I know many who just use it as a practical tool in the day to day.

Even know friend groups who use it between themselves (they all live close together)

SnapMap is also very popular, obv less accurate but nice to see who is in town

[–] slaacaa@lemmy.world 19 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

Same with my wife. I even have it set up for my mother, so I know she’s safe. I don’t understand what the big deal is, as you say it’s a safety and convenience feature, it doesn’t mean you spend the day looking at the app to see where the other person is.

It’s not something I would do in a casual or new relationship, but if I’m with somebody for years, I value their safety over my (perceived) privacy.

And for the people who think this would prevent or bust cheating: lol. They can just turn it off and complain of bad reception, or leave their phone in their car, while they “shop at the mall”. Or just get a second phone. This app is not a substitute for trust

Regarding tech privacy: it’s not like other apps on your phone are not already tracking, I doubt anybody has their GPS constantly turned off. They already know your location, this one feature doesn’t make a difference.

[–] Count042@lemmy.ml 1 points 2 days ago (1 children)

For one, it wrecks your battery life.

Secondly, everyone I know my age keeps GPS off unless using a mapping program.

Finally regarding app privacy, people do care about that which is why grapheneos and other privacy focused OS's exist.

The fact that you don't care about privacy and want the government and corporations to have every sext you've ever received or sent doesn't mean that others don't care as well.

[–] cole@lemdro.id -4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Google map's location sharing does not even impact battery life.

[–] twikz@sopuli.xyz 2 points 22 hours ago (1 children)
[–] cole@lemdro.id 1 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

that might as well be AI generated. there are no numbers, just some dumb matrix with arbitrary reasoning and now evidence. I'm all for evidence to the contrary, but this is not that

[–] twikz@sopuli.xyz 1 points 20 hours ago

While I can't find any source to back up my claim that it certainly drains some amount of battery, can you provide any evidence that it doesn't impact battery life? Given that GPS uses significant processing power

[–] sugar_in_your_tea@sh.itjust.works -2 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

She could text you, no? It seems like getting her to be better at that is better than opening the can of worms involved with location sharing. For example, here's some bad stuff that could happen:

  • phone sells that data to advertisers
  • gov't gets that info and you trigger an alarm (maybe you went hiking a little too close to a sensitive area)
  • data breach happens and now crooks know when you're not home
  • SO's creepy friend sees your location and is secretly stalking you

Etc. Those probably aren't super likely, but being able to avoid it all entirely with a little better communication sounds a lot better.

Sometimes it's worth it, like you're going hiking alone or going to a bad part of town.

[–] Clent@lemmy.dbzer0.com -2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Yes, clearly the solution is to make her change her behavior. Needing your SO to change themselves is definitely a sign of a healthy relationship.

In a committed relationship, each side should be open to small changes.