Share my location

Worked example: sharing a meeting point

Standing by the Statue of Liberty, a phone reports 40.68925, -74.04450 with an accuracy of 12 m. Adding the label "Ferry dock" gives this link:

https://onlinemaptools.com/tools/share-my-location#p=40.68925%2C-74.04450&pn=Ferry+dock&acc=12

Everything after the # sign is the point, the label, and the accuracy. Browsers do not send that part of a link to the server, so the location travels only inside the message you send. The same point in other formats is 40°41'21.30"N 74°02'40.20"W in degrees, minutes, and seconds, and 87G7MXQ4+P6 as a plus code.

How to use it

1. Press Use my location and allow location access, type a place or coordinates in Or pick a place, or click the map.
2. The map zooms to the pin. For a GPS fix, a circle shows the accuracy the device reported.
3. Optionally type a Label (optional), such as a meeting spot. It is added to the link and shown as the panel title.
4. Press Copy next to Share link, Message, Decimal, DMS, or Plus code. On phones, Share… opens the system share sheet.
5. Use Google Maps, Apple Maps, or OpenStreetMap to open the same point in that service.

A fixed point, not live tracking

The link records one position at the moment you made it. It does not update as you move, it does not report back when someone opens it, and it cannot be switched off later because there is nothing on a server to switch off. Anyone who has the link can see the point, for as long as they keep the message.

That makes it a good fit for a meeting spot, a parked car, a trailhead, or a delivery drop point. For following someone on the move, use the live location sharing built into your phone or messaging app instead, which you can stop at any time.

What the accuracy figure means

When you use your location, the browser returns an accuracy value in meters along with the coordinates. It is the device's own estimate of how far the true position may be from the reported point. The map draws it as a circle around the pin and the link carries it, so the person you send it to can see how sure the fix was.

Outdoors with a clear view of the sky, phones usually report under 20 m. Indoors, or on a laptop without GPS, the position comes from Wi-Fi or the network and the circle can be hundreds of meters wide. If the circle is large, step outside and press Use my location again, or drag the map and click the exact spot. A point picked by hand has no accuracy figure.

Which format to send

The share link opens on any device with a browser. The Google Maps, Apple Maps, and OpenStreetMap buttons open the same point directly in those services, which is handy when the other person wants directions. The Message line combines the label, the decimal coordinates, and the link into one line ready to paste.

Decimal degrees work in almost every app and GPS unit. The link keeps five decimal places, about 1.1 m of latitude. Degrees, minutes, and seconds suit paper maps and radio calls. A 10 character plus code names a box about 14 m across at the equator and can be typed into Google Maps search.

Privacy

Your position is read by the browser only after you allow it, and only on a secure HTTPS page. It stays in this tab. The page address updates as you choose a point so the link can be copied, but no request carries the point to this site. The map loads basemap tiles from OpenFreeMap for the area it shows, so the tile server sees roughly where the pin is. Searching a place sends the search text to the Photon geocoder, and opening a map button sends the point to that map service.