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You share your live location with a friend so they can meet you after a train ride. They can open the map to see where you are. Some apps also let them set an alert for when you arrive at or leave a place. That can be useful for coordinating a pickup. A recurring alert can also keep reporting changes long after that particular trip. Check which alerts are active, who set them, and whether you still want them.
Choose what you want the alert to do
For a one-time plan, decide who needs the update and what event should trigger it. In Apple Find My on iPhone, you can choose a person, set an alert for when you reach or leave a place, and choose whether it runs once or every time. When you add a new place, you can adjust the radius. A wider radius can trigger the alert while you are nearby, before you reach the spot itself. Apple’s guide to notifying a friend
Use the place and timing that help with the plan. If someone needs to know when to walk out to meet you, an alert near the station may be enough. An alert that fires on every departure from home would give them a different kind of information. Agree on the place and whether the alert should repeat before setting one up about someone else.
Check what happens when someone else adds an alert
Apple says a friend is alerted when you set up an arrival or departure notification about them in Find My. If you set an alert to repeat, they must approve it. Apple says the approval request arrives the first time they reach or leave the chosen location. A one-time alert and a recurring alert therefore have different setup steps. Apple’s guide to alerts about a friend
In Google Maps, a recipient of an eligible location share can set an alert for each arrival or each departure at a place. Google says the person sharing their location gets an email when the recipient adds the alert. They also get a push notification if Maps notifications are on. Google lists account restrictions and says the feature is unavailable when location is shared through a link. Google’s guide to Location Sharing notifications
Before setting up a pickup alert for someone else, ask whether they would rather send you a message when they get there. It may be easier for both of you. If an alert is useful, say which place you intend to use and whether this is for today’s plans or something you expect to do regularly.
Turn off an alert or end the share
In Find My, open Me and look for the section listing alerts about your location. You can check who gets them and turn off an alert you set or one a friend made about you. Apple’s labels vary by software version. If the person no longer needs your location on the map either, use the controls for that person in the People tab to end the share. Apple’s guide to alerts about you Apple’s guide to stopping a share
Google puts Allow Location Sharing notifications in the Location Sharing settings for your Google Account. Turning it off disables existing arrival and departure alerts that recipients added while letting you continue sharing your location. Google says the setting stays off until you turn it back on, even if you end a share and start another later. Ending a share also stops the related alerts. Google’s guide to turning off location alerts
After the trip, check the app you used. If you meant to stop an alert, verify the setting for that alert. If you meant to stop sharing entirely, check the status of that specific share. If you shared in both apps, check both.
