How to Share Your Location with a QR Code
A QR handoff is the fastest way to give someone standing near you your exact pin: you show a code, they point their camera, their maps app opens on your location. The code is generated on your device — your location never touches a server.
When QR beats every other sharing method
QR wins whenever the other person is physically there but not in your contacts: taxi and delivery drivers, meeting a marketplace seller, group rides where one person navigates, splitting up at a festival and agreeing on a rally point, or handing a meeting spot to a colleague's phone across a table. There is no number exchange, no app in common required, and no message thread left behind. For remote people, the WhatsApp/SMS/link buttons in the same panel do the job instead.
Privacy notes worth knowing
- The QR encodes a plain Google Maps link with your coordinates — inspect it yourself with any scanner.
- It is generated by code running on your phone (a vendored open-source library); nothing is fetched or logged.
- It is a snapshot, not a tracker: once scanned, the other person knows where you were, not where you go next.
- Works offline: the code renders without internet; the scanner needs connectivity only to open the map.
Step by step
- Open the location finder and tap Show my location (allow the permission prompt for GPS accuracy).
- In the Share panel, tap Show QR code — the code appears instantly, generated locally in your browser.
- Turn your screen brightness up and hold the phone steady.
- The other person opens their camera app (no scanner app needed on iPhone or modern Android) and points it at your screen.
- They tap the banner that appears — their maps app opens centred on your exact pin, ready for directions.