Nobody says it out loud, but in a lot of houses one person is the Android one. Three faces sit on the family map in Find My, and the fourth gets a text: let me know when you’re there. It happens every day, and after a while it feels like a small exclusion.
Where an old mapmaker’s knowledge ran out, the parchment simply stopped. Apple’s map of your family has an edge too, running between two phones on the same kitchen counter. This guide is about drawing past it: how to share location between iPhone and Android, for one evening or for good.
Cross-platform location sharing means letting people on iPhone and Android see each other’s live location on the same map, without anyone switching phones. It is entirely possible to share location between iPhone and Android. You just can’t do it with the app most iPhone families reach for first.
Can an iPhone share location with an Android phone?
An iPhone can share its location with an Android phone, but not through Find My. Find My is built for Apple devices, so a person on Android can’t be added to it, however the settings are arranged. That’s the whole reason the question comes up.
What works instead falls into three groups: Google Maps location sharing, which is free and runs on both; short, timed shares inside messaging apps; and a family location app installed on every phone in the house. Which one fits depends on how long you want the share to last, and how many people need to be on the map.
The free way that works both ways: Google Maps
Google Maps location sharing is the best free answer to this question, and we’d rather say so than pretend otherwise. It runs on iPhone and Android, it can last indefinitely, and it costs nothing.
To set it up, install Google Maps on the iPhone if it isn’t there already, then on either phone:
- Open Google Maps, tap your profile picture, then Location sharing.
- Tap New share and choose how long. For a share that lasts, pick Until you turn this off.
- Choose the person and tap Share.
Then do the same from the other phone, so it goes both ways. Google’s help page adds a few conditions worth knowing before you start. The person receiving the share needs a Google account. If sharing runs into trouble after 24 hours, Google asks you to verify your age, and accounts that are too young to share are managed by a parent through Family Link. For someone without a Google account you can send a link instead, but that only lasts up to 24 hours.
Google Maps also does arrival alerts now. Once someone shares with you, you can ask to be notified when they arrive at or leave a place, up to five places per person, and they get an email saying you’ve done it.
The catch is arithmetic. Every Google Maps share is a thread between two people. For a couple that’s two shares, which is nothing. For a family of four where everyone wants to see everyone, it’s twelve separate shares, each set up from a phone, each with its own person who might quietly stop it. Nobody plans for that. It just slowly comes apart.
Short shares: WhatsApp and a dropped pin
For an evening rather than for good, messaging apps already do the job. WhatsApp’s live location runs in a chat on both kinds of phone, on a timer: 15 minutes, an hour, or eight hours. When the timer ends, the share ends. That’s the point of it, and it’s a decent fit for a late train or a first solo trip across town.
A pin dropped into a text message is simpler still. It shows where the person was when they sent it, not where they are now, so it answers “did you get there” once and then goes stale.
Neither is a way to share location between iPhone and Android permanently. They’re lanterns handed across for one walk home.
How to share location between iPhone and Android permanently
There are two ways to share location between iPhone and Android for good, and both need something installed on the iPhone.
Google Maps, set to “Until you turn this off”. Free, and it stays on until someone stops it. It works well for two people. It gets fiddly past three, for the reason above, and the Google account rules bite hardest with children and younger teenagers.
One family location app on every phone. Everyone installs the same app and joins one circle. The circle is a single shared map, so a family of four is one circle rather than twelve threads, and nobody has to renew anything. The trade-off is another app on every phone, and for bigger families most of these apps cost money.
If you’re a couple, Google Maps may genuinely be enough. If you’re a family with kids on both kinds of phone, a shared circle is usually easier to live with. It matters most when the person most likely to fall off the edge of the map is a teenager, who is also the person most likely to switch a share off. More on that conversation in what to do when a teen won’t share their location.
The options side by side
| Option | Works on iPhone and Android | How long it lasts | Cost | Who sees whom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Find My | iPhone and other Apple devices only | Indefinitely | Free | People you choose, Apple only |
| Google Maps location sharing | Yes | Until you turn it off | Free | Each pair separately; Google account needed |
| WhatsApp live location | Yes | 15 minutes to 8 hours | Free | The chat |
| Life360 | Yes | Ongoing | Free plan; paid from $9.99 a month (US, October 2026) | Everyone in the circle |
| Protego | Yes | Ongoing | Free for a circle of two; a paid plan adds more people and place alerts | Everyone in the circle, both ways |
Life360’s prices are from its pricing page in October 2026. If you’re weighing several apps for a mixed family, we’ve sorted every Life360 alternative by why people leave, and there’s a plain explainer on what location sharing actually does.
Where we fit
We make a family location app, so read this part knowing that.
Protego is a family GPS location app for iPhone and Android that shows a family circle on a parchment-style map; it is free to download and free for a circle of two. A mixed-phone household is the case we care about most. Everyone installs Protego, joins one circle, and appears on the same map, whatever phone they carry. The iPhone and the Android sit on one sheet of parchment, each person a portrait in a scalloped frame with a ribbon label, instead of two maps with a gap between them.
Your family, together on one map
A GPS locator for the whole family, on a map that feels like magic.
What changes, in plain terms: one circle instead of a dozen shares, and nothing to renew. The circle is mutual by design, so parents appear on the map too and nobody is watched in secret; there’s no hidden mode. We don’t sell location data. A couple, or one parent and one teenager, pays nothing. For more people, or for wards, our place alerts that tell you someone reached school or home, there’s a paid plan.
We’ll be honest about the limits as well. Protego has no crash detection, and there’s no way to lock it so a child can’t turn it off. If either of those is the deciding point, Life360 or a different tool will suit you better.
If you’re on Android, the Protego for Android page has the details.
Before you set it up
Ask before you share, whichever route you take. Location sharing between adults works when both people chose it. With children it lasts longer when they understand it, and see their parents on the same map. If the conversation is the hard part, we’ve written about whether it’s wrong to track your teenager and about how Find My compares with a family app.
Then check the boring things. Location permission set to always for the app you choose, battery saver not killing it in the background, and the share actually visible on the other phone before anyone leaves the house.
The bottom line
To share location between iPhone and Android, skip Find My. For two people, Google Maps set to “Until you turn this off” is free and does the job. For a short trip, WhatsApp’s timed share is enough. For a whole family on mixed phones, one app on every phone gives you a single map with no edge in the middle, and that’s the version that tends to survive the school year.
Frequently asked questions
Can an iPhone share location with an Android phone? Yes, but not through Apple’s Find My, which only works between Apple devices. The free built-in route is Google Maps location sharing, which runs on both iPhone and Android. A family location app installed on both phones, such as Protego or Life360, also works.
How do I share my location from iPhone to Android permanently? Install Google Maps on the iPhone, open Location sharing, start a new share, choose Until you turn this off, and pick the person. They need a Google account to see it. The alternative is a family location app on both phones, where everyone stays in one circle until they leave it.
Is there a free app to share location between iPhone and Android? Google Maps location sharing is free on both. Protego is free to download and free for a circle of two people; a paid plan adds more people and place alerts. Life360 has a free plan, with paid plans from $9.99 a month in the US as of October 2026.
Can I use Find My with an Android phone? No. Find My shows people and devices on Apple’s own platforms, so a family member on Android can’t appear in it. For a family with both kinds of phone, use Google Maps location sharing or an app that runs on iPhone and Android.
Why does my Google Maps location sharing stop after 24 hours? Google’s help page tells people whose sharing has trouble after 24 hours to verify their age on their Google account. Sharing by link, for someone without a Google account, also lasts at most 24 hours. Accounts that are too young to share are managed by a parent through Family Link.