what you need to know
- Android users can now manage their location sharing settings in every app that supports them, but that may change soon.
- A recent Google Play services update revealed a new Google Location Sharing page in the Settings app, which requires manual activation.
- The menu will contain all settings related to Google’s location sharing products, including six apps.
Location sharing is used in a handful of Google apps, but managing location permissions is currently done on a per-app basis.However, it looks like Google is preparing to add all of these location sharing settings to a new menu called google location sharing in the Settings app. Android leaker AssembleDebug revealed to PiunikaWeb an unpublished page that is available for manual activation after the latest Google Play Services update.
Version 15/24/2014 Google Play Services introduces a settings menu located at location services Label.Currently, if the user navigates to set up > Place > location services > google location sharing, they will only be able to click links to pages that manage these shares with approved people. Of course, this is after the page is activated. Presumably, location sharing-related toggles and options will eventually be available directly on this page at some point.
Location Sharing allows Android users to let people they trust view their real-time location information. However, users can start sharing their location (or the location of their device) with others across multiple apps. These include Google Maps, Personal Safety, and Find My Device. So if a user wants to revoke location sharing permissions, they need to remember which app was used to initiate sharing.
The Google location sharing menu will eliminate this necessity. As the company explains in a blank settings page, Android users will be able to “manage any existing location sharing, regardless of which app they were created in.”
Google may improve its live location sharing hub on Android – https://t.co/1Qy2JQuZ96 #Google #Android pic.twitter.com/HyXwnOeMg8April 13, 2024
AssembleDebug conducted research in the Google Play services update and found a list of six apps, encoded in base64, that were whitelisted to appear in the Google location sharing menu. Known applications include Google Maps, Find My Device, and Personal Security. However, it is reported that a total of six apps will be supported, and the Family Link app is likely to be one of them.
Google is apparently testing this new menu, but we don’t know when it will be released publicly to Android users. It could be released via a future Google Play services update or included in Android 15.