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Welcome to the 'Sharing your location with Google Maps' video course. In this video, you'll learn about sharing your location with your friends and family using the Google Maps app. You'll also find out about searching for things near your location and how to save maps offline for when you don't have an internet connection. To follow along, you should be signed into your Android phone and Google Maps with your Google Account. This demonstration uses the Google Maps app on an Android phone, but the steps will be similar on an iPhone or in a browser on a computer.
To work, Google Maps needs to know your location. You can turn this on and give the app permission to access your location in the Settings menu of your device under Location. Android phones have the Google Maps app installed. If you can't find it, you can download it from Google Play. For iPhone, download the app from the App Store and install it on your device. To start, find the Google Maps icon on the Home screen. By default, it will be in the Google folder. Tap on it, then tap on Google Maps to open the app.
A map appears with your location marked by a blue circle in the centre of the map. You can share a location on the map with friends and family by "dropping a pin" on it. This is different from telling someone an address or landmark because you can choose to share a specific area. For example, a nice picnic spot. In this demonstration, we'll share a spot in Sydney's Hyde Park by dropping a pin on a location. First, let's centre the map on Hyde Park. Tap the Search here bar at the top of the screen. Type in Hyde Park. A list of suggestions will appear for you to select from, but we'll search by tapping the magnifying glass icon in the bottom right of the keypad instead. The map will centre on Hyde Park. To see more of the map, close the information panel by tapping on the cross at the top right. Find a spot on the map that doesn't have a label already.
In our example, we'll zoom in near the Hyde Park Obelisk. Using two fingers on the screen, slide your fingers apart to zoom in on the map. That seems like a good place to meet for our picnic. Tap and hold your finger on the map for a moment. Release your finger and you'll see a red icon on the map marking that exact location. This is your dropped pin. The pop up at the bottom of the screen shows Dropped pin with some options below. Let's swipe through them now. Directions will show instructions for how to get to the location from where you are now. Start will begin guiding you to the location step by step without showing you the directions first. Save lets you keep a record of this location so you can get directions to it again later.
This is a great option if you find a new favourite picnic spot or somewhere else where there isn't a traditional address to look up. Share lets you send the location to a friend or family member using the apps installed on your device. This function uses your device's Share menu. This will be a bit different on every phone and depends on which apps you have installed. Tap the Share icon to see the options. In this demonstration, we'll choose to share via an SMS or text message. Tap the Messages option and choose a contact to share the location with. Then tap Next at the bottom of the screen. A text message with a link to the location on Google Maps will appear. Tap the Send arrow to send the message to your contact. When they receive the message, they can tap the link to open Google Maps on their device and see the location.
Now tap the Back arrow twice to return to the Google Maps screen. Links from Google Maps are usually safe. If you receive a Google Maps location link, you can call your friend to double-check they really sent it. Depending on your device, you might also see an Add label button. If you don't see it, swipe the options to the left, then tap on it. Add label lets you give the location a name, such as Picnic Spot. Type this in the Enter a custom name box. When you're finished, your label appears below the text box next to a sign post icon. Tap this to save the location name and close the pop up.
Finally, the More button gives you a few more options. Tap it and the pop up changes to a menu. You can download this location as an offline map, which will save a map of the area so you can find your way even when you're not connected to the internet. You can search for things on Google Maps other than addresses or locations. Let's look at how to find the nearest public toilets to where you currently are. When you search for something in the Search here bar, Google Maps will search the area that is currently showing on the map. Tap on the Search here bar and enter public toilets near me. The list of results will show the closest toilets. Tap the top result to see a pop up. This pop up will show you some information about the toilets such as when they close. You can try searching for other things, such as 'supermarkets near me' or 'Italian restaurants near me'.
Using Google Maps loads its map from the internet as you move along on your journey, but this only works if your device has an internet connection, either via wifi or a mobile data network. However, you can save an area as an offline map so you can still use it like a paper map when your device has no internet connection. In our example, we're going to save an offline map of Adelaide for an upcoming trip. We won't worry about directions or addresses. We'll just save a big area around Adelaide so we can search and reference it without an internet connection. Tap the Search here bar and type in Adelaide. Instead of tapping the magnifying glass icon, look for Adelaide, SA in the search results and tap that. The map will zoom to Adelaide, and you'll see a pop up at the bottom of the screen showing photos and some options.
Put your finger on the row of buttons above the photos and swipe to the left. The More button will appear. Tap More to see a menu. Tap Download offline map. The screen will change to show a map of Adelaide with a blue border around it. This shows the map that will be downloadable to your device. You can't change the shape of the border, but you can use two fingers to zoom the map in and out. The more you zoom in, the less of the map will be downloaded. There is a limit to how far you can zoom in. The default size looks good for our demonstration, so we're ready to tap the Download button. The map will download in the background and be ready for us to use whenever we like. To view an offline map, tap your device's Back button until you see a plain map with the Search here bar at the top.
Tap your profile icon at the top right of the screen. A pop up menu will appear. About halfway down the menu, you can see Offline maps. Tap it to see a list of the maps you have downloaded. Under Downloaded maps, tap Adelaide. Then tap the map to see it in full screen on your phone. You've learned how to share your location using Google Maps, find public toilets near you, and download a map to use when you don't have an internet connection. If you're unsure about any steps, you can rewind the video or click the chapter headings to jump to the start of a chapter. If you're ready to move on, there are many other courses to explore on Be Connected.