Google needs to indicate all Android location-sharing settings in a single place

What you have to know

• Android customers can handle their location-sharing settings in every app that helps them proper now, however that is perhaps altering quickly.
• A current Google Play Companies replace revealed a brand new Google Location Sharing web page within the settings app, which requires handbook activation.
• This menu will home all settings associated to Google’s location-sharing choices, together with six apps.

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Location sharing is utilized in a handful of Google apps, however managing location permissions is at present carried out on a per-app foundation. Nonetheless, it seems to be like Google is making ready so as to add all these location-sharing settings to a brand new menu known as Google Location Sharing within the settings app. Android leaker AssembleDebug revealed the unreleased web page to PiunikaWeb, which grew to become out there for handbook activation after the newest Google Play Companies replace.

Model 24.15.14 of Google Play Companies introduces the settings menu, which is behind the Location Companies tab. For now, if a person navigates to Settings > Location > Location Companies > Google Location Sharing, they are going to solely be capable to comply with a hyperlink to a webpage that manages these shares with authorised individuals. After all, that is after the web page is activated. Presumably, there’ll ultimately be toggles and choices associated to location shares straight on this web page in some unspecified time in the future. 

With location sharing, Android customers can let individuals they belief view their real-time location data. Nonetheless, there are a number of apps the place customers can begin sharing their location (or their system’s location) with others. They embrace Google Maps, Private Security, and Discover My Gadget. As such, if a person needs to rescind location-sharing permission, they will want to recollect which app was used to provoke the share.

The Google Location Sharing menu would eradicate this necessity. As the corporate explains within the clean settings web page, Android customers will be capable to “handle any present location shares no matter which app they had been created in.”

AssembleDebug poked round within the Google Play Companies replace and located a listing of six apps, encoded in base64, which might be whitelisted to look within the Google Location Sharing menu. The identified apps are Google Maps, Discover My Gadget and Private Security. Nonetheless, there are reportedly six complete apps that might be supported, and there is a good likelihood the Household Hyperlink app might be a kind of. 

Google is clearly testing this new menu, however we do not know when it will be publicly launched for Android customers. It may very well be shipped via a future Google Play Companies replace or included in Android 15.