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Find my switch
TurnOffLocation Apps Messages

App guide

How to turn off location on Messages

Messages carries two different location switches on two different systems. On iPhone, Messages shares through Find My, and Apple says the person that you stop sharing with won't be notified, while Apple's Personal Safety guide adds that they may notice you've stopped. On Android, Google Messages shares through Google Location Sharing, so stopping the share there stops it for every Google app that uses it.

Do they get told?Apple says the person that you stop sharing with won't be notified, while Apple's Personal Safety guide adds that the people you previously shared with may notice that you've stopped and that on earlier operating systems they may receive a notification in Messages. Apple's iPhone guide says the previous bubble in the conversation no longer displays a map. Google's Messages page does not document whether the other person is told when you stop, though Google does document a notification to the recipient when a share starts.

Stop sharing with one person

inside the Messages app
Path
  1. Messages
  2. the conversation
  3. the contact icon at the top
  4. Stop Sharing My Location

From the vendor’s own page · iOS 27 as named on Apple's iPhone User Guide, read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Apple Support — Share your location in Messages on iPhone (iPhone User Guide), Apple Support — Share your location with iPhone, Apple Personal Safety User Guide — Find My and location sharing

Do they get told?Apple says the person that you stop sharing with won't be notified, and Apple's iPhone guide adds that the previous bubble in the conversation no longer displays a map. Apple's Personal Safety guide says the people you previously shared with may notice that you've stopped, and that on earlier operating systems they may receive a notification in Messages.
Who can still see you
Off
That one person or group
Your live location leaves that conversation and, because Messages shares through Find My, their Find My, Maps and Contacts too.
Still on
Your other shares and every app
Only this one share changed. Share My Location in Find My and Location Services stay on for everyone else.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address.

Apple's Personal Safety guide prints the same step as tapping the person's name at the top of the conversation.

Share for a set time instead of indefinitely

inside the Messages app
Path
  1. Messages
  2. the conversation
  3. the name at the top
  4. Share My Location
  5. for an hour

From the vendor’s own page · iOS 17 and later as named on Apple's page (published 2025-12-19), read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Apple Support — Share your location with iPhone, Apple Support — Share your location in Messages on iPhone (iPhone User Guide)

Do they get told?What the other person sees when a timed share runs out is not documented on Apple's pages. What is documented is the choice itself: Apple says you can share your location for an hour, until end of the day, or indefinitely, and that Indefinitely runs until you stop it by hand.
Who can still see you
Off
The share, when the time runs out
Sharing ends by itself at the end of the hour or the day you picked, with no second visit to the conversation.
Still on
Anything you shared indefinitely
A share set to Indefinitely keeps running until you stop it, and Location Services stays on for every app.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address, however short the share.

Apple prints the choices as for an hour, until end of the day, or indefinitely; the iPhone User Guide names only Indefinitely as a button.

Take location away from the app that Messages uses

in iPhone Settings
Path
  1. Settings
  2. Privacy & Security
  3. Location Services
  4. Find My
  5. Never

From the vendor’s own page · iOS 14 and later as named on Apple's page (dated 2026-01-14), read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Apple Support — Turn Location Services and GPS on or off on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch, Apple Support — Share your location in Messages on iPhone (iPhone User Guide)

Do they get told?What the people you shared with see when Find My's access is set to Never is not documented on Apple's pages. What is documented is that Messages uses the Find My app to share your location, and that stopping a share from the conversation is the switch Apple prints for ending it.
Who can still see you
Off
The Messages app on this iPhone
Messages can no longer read your position, so it cannot drop a pin or send your current location from a conversation.
Still on
Find My, and the share it holds
Apple names Find My as the app behind location sharing, and Find My keeps its own permission and its own share.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address.

Apple's Messages article sends you to the Find My entry, not a Messages entry: Messages uses the Find My app when you share your location. Setting it to Never stops the app that does the sharing.

Stop sharing from the conversation

inside the Messages app
Path
  1. Google Messages
  2. the conversation
  3. the message with your location
  4. Stop
  5. Stop sharing

From the vendor’s own page · Messages by Google app, read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Google Messages Help — Share your real-time location in Google Messages, Android Help — Find your friends and family with Find Hub

Do they get told?Whether the other person is told when you stop is not documented on Google's Messages page, which does not describe what they see afterwards. What is documented is the other direction: Google says that when you start a share the recipient gets a notification, or an email if they have neither Find Hub nor Google Maps.
Who can still see you
Off
That one person or group
Google says stopping a share stops it for your account and for every app using Google Location Sharing, not just this chat.
Still on
Your other shares and every app
Shares you started with other people carry on, and the Messages app keeps its own location permission.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address.

Google prints the sharing lengths as For 1 hour, Today only, Until you turn this off, and a Custom duration that cannot last more than 24 hours.

Pause updates to every share at once

in Android Settings
Path
  1. Settings
  2. Location
  3. Location services
  4. Google Location Sharing
  5. Use Location Sharing
  6. Off

From the vendor’s own page · Android (current release), read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Google Account Help — Manage your Location Sharing settings (Android), Google Account Help — Manage your Location Sharing settings, what pausing does

Do they get told?Google documents what this does rather than who is told: your shares stay in place, but they stop being updated with your real-time location until you turn the setting on again. Google's page describes no notice to the people you share with.
Who can still see you
Off
Live updates to all your shares
Everyone you share with stops getting new positions from this device until you turn the setting on again.
Still on
The shares themselves
Google says this does not stop any of your shares, and other location services such as Maps keep working on the device.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address.

Google says this setting is device and account specific, so you set it on each device you are signed in on.

Take location away from the Messages app

in Android Settings
Path
  1. Settings
  2. Apps
  3. Messages
  4. Permissions
  5. Location
  6. Don't allow

From the vendor’s own page · Android (current release), read 2026-09-17 · checked 2026-09-17 · source: Android Help — Change app permissions on your Android phone

Do they get told?What the people you share with see when Messages is set to Don't allow is not documented on Google's app-permissions page. What is documented is the effect on the app: Google says it cannot use the permission, even when you're using the app.
Who can still see you
Off
The Messages app on this phone
Google says the app cannot use the permission, even when you are using the app, so Messages has no position to send.
Still on
Google Location Sharing and other apps
The account-level sharing setting and every other app on the phone keep their own permissions.
Still visible
The network
Your carrier and any site you open still place you roughly by cell tower and IP address.

Google's page describes the per-app steps generically; Messages is the app you select at the third step.

Location spoofing, fake-GPS apps and mock-location settings are outside this site on purpose. This page describes the settings the app and your phone provide, and what the vendor documents about them.

If someone is tracking you against your will, turning a setting off may not be the safest first step. Read this first.

Related

Before you tap

Question Does Find My notify when you turn off location? No, and Apple states it in one sentence: "The person that you stop sharing with won't be notified." Apple's Personal Safety guide adds that the people you previously shared with "may notice that you've stopped", and that on earlier operating systems "they may receive a notification in Messages that you stopped sharing." Question How to stop sharing location with one person Not everyone has to come off at once: Find My, Messages, Google Maps, Snapchat and Instagram all have a per-person control. In Find My it is People, the person, Stop Sharing My Location; in Google Maps it is Location sharing, the person, Stop. Apple is the only one of them that states whether that person is notified. Question How to turn off location temporarily Yes, several of these apps ship a timer, and it is the only kind of temporary this site will describe. Find My shares for an hour or until the end of the day and can hide you from one person until the next day; Snapchat's Ghost Mode takes 3 hours, 24 hours or Until Turned Off; a Life360 Bubble runs up to 6 hours. Everywhere else the temporary version is the ordinary switch, turned off and then back on by you. App guide Find My Find My has one switch per person, a one-day pause per person, and one master switch for everyone; Messages, Maps and Contacts all reach the same share. Apple's sharing page says the person you stop sharing with is not notified. Apple's safety guide adds that they may notice you have stopped. App guide Google Maps Google Maps has three separate location switches. Location sharing sends your live position to people you chose, Timeline keeps a record of where you have been, and the app's location permission in phone settings decides whether Maps can read your position at all. Turning one off leaves the other two on. App guide WhatsApp A live location share runs for a set time in one individual or group chat. Stop it inside that chat, or end every live share at once from WhatsApp's own Privacy settings. WhatsApp does not document a notification when you stop, but the chat keeps the location you already shared as a static thumbnail.