'I feel watched sometimes.' 15 women on the people they share their location with.

Is there someone in your life who always knows where you are at any given point in time?

If you have a smart device like an iPhone, you might have dabbled in the Find My Friends feature or a similar app that tracks the location of your phone and by proxy... you. 

Location sharing has always been a bit of a contentious subject that comes with an underlying idea that if someone shares their location with their parnter or even their parents, they must not trust them. 

Now, it seems like everyone shares their location with... everyone. Location sharing has proven to be more than a pervy tool and has become a safety necessity and a useful function in people's everyday life. 

Here's what 15 women had to say when I asked them who they share their location with and how they feel about it...

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Maddie, 21, shares her location with her immediate family.

"I’ve always shared my location — it was a condition of getting my phone at 12, but I’ve never felt the need to turn it off since becoming an adult. I like knowing my parents can keep a watch over me, especially if I’m running late. Similarly, I like being able to see where they are, like if I see they’re at the shops I can ask them to grab things. 

It can make for funny conversations when we ask each other things like 'Why were you at XYZ?'"

Sandra, 50, trackers her 18-year-old son's location. 

"We began sharing only recently (through Life360 app) when my 18-year-old embarked on a three-month trip to Europe. His itinerary was not fixed and I knew he would be tardy on letting me know where he was. He didn’t want to share while he was in Australia and I suspect he might not continue to share when he gets home, but it has been such a comfort for me to always know where he is and also allows me to feel connected with him. 

I do worry when his phone is out of battery for several hours at a time and I wonder if he has lost it, but it is definitely worth it as I feel I would know far earlier than normal if something was wrong."

Olivia, 47, shares her location with her children.

"I feel watched sometimes, when my kids ask who I was with and why I was where I was. I'm a single parent and still have a social life, so it’s also reassuring they know my location. My kids know when I’m at work or at home and if I’m on my way to collect them as agreed and if I’m running late."

Lisa, 37, shares her location with her husband.

"I personally love it. I only use it when I need to. I'll check if he is driving home from somewhere, I'll call him and ask him to grab us coffee, see who is closer proximity to daycare and then can pick up the kids, see if he is still at Woolies to get in that last-minute grocery item. I think he uses it for the same things with me.

Sometimes if we are socialising separately late at night, we might use it to check the other person is still out or on the way home. It's reassuring to see the little face showing where they are and you can go back to sleep. We don't have it for any trust reasons, it only started out of pure convenience."

Taylor, 44, shares her location with her mum and partner.

"After I started living on my own, I started sharing my location with my mum who also lives on her own and my sister and brother-in-law who lived nearby. It was a safety thing, really. Just looking out for each other. Then I met my partner and after a time, we shared our locations too. That’s more so we can check how far away we are from home for cooking dinner and things like that. I’ve never felt watched. I suppose that’s because of a complete trust we have in each other (all involved). I particularly liked it when I was going on dates. I’d tell my family, and if they were ever worried, they’d know where I was. And liked knowing they had my back. "

Daisy, 24, shares her location with her close friends.

"I love it, safety is no joke. It also makes meeting people out a lot easier. When my best friend and I are going to the same location, I can watch to see how far she is instead of asking 'What's you ETA?' or 'Are you there yet?' or 'When will you be here?'" 

Steph, 45, shares her location with her sister, nieces and mother.

"I was previously in a DV relationship so it was extra security. It’s always for safety and never to stalk where someone is."

Jess, 27, shares her location with her partner and close friends.

"I share my location with my partner as it is definitely a convenience factor. With my friends, it's kind of funny to see where they may end up on a night out lol."

Anne, 37, shares her location with her mum and brother, but not her husband.

"It makes me feel safer that somebody knows where I am especially living overseas, but I don’t feel the need to share it with my husband because I don’t want to feel like we’re policing each other about where we go and what we do."

Scarlett, 55, shares her location with her partner, kids and parents.

"We share our location for safety as well as convience. It's reassuring for us when the kids have late nights out, and also for them on the rare occasions we parents have a few days away. It increases trust and openness with the kids (they are very happy to share and don’t see it as spying on them). 

My mother-in-law refuses to share however, we were very anxious when she did a solo driving trip from Sydney to Melbourne “exploring” on the way. She is 80, and we felt worried about car troubles and that no one would know what country road she was on. Of course she was fine, but my husband waited anxiously for her irregular check-ins."

Hayley, 29, shares her location with her husband, sister and two friends.

"Sharing my location makes me feel assured and loved (that they care where I am). It’s fun to see where my friends are from time to time and imagine or send a message and ask what they’re doing. For husband and family, it’s convenient to check if they're on their way home. We don’t check it often but sometimes remember to check the app and it can save a phone call, especially if they're driving."

Alex, 26, has a close friend that shares her location with her.

"I have a friend that lives alone, and she feels scared that no one will notice she didn’t make it home, so we both share our locations for that reason."

Jane, 48, has her mum share her location with her.

"My mum is 72 years old and lives alone with dementia. As the disease progresses, this is a bridge before moving her into care."

Elle, 26, has her partner share his location with her.

"It's more out of interest. Before sharing locations, I actually never knew where my partner worked in Sydney. Its kinda fun to just check in and see where he is."

Diane, 44, shares her location with her children.

"My oldest child (14) travels to sport/work solo and it makes me feel safer. I only check it if she is late, if it’s raining or if plans have changed. 

My other child (12) rides his bike in the bush and goes fishing and I like to know where he is... He's is a little less trustworthy, so I do check in on him more!

I share my location back with them because I think it’s a respectful thing to do. I also travel for work and it helps them to know where I am."

If you want more culture opinions by Emily Vernem you can follow her on Instagram @emilyvernem.

The women in this article are known to Mamamia, but their names have been changed to protect their privacy.

Do you share your location with anyone? Tell us in the comments! 

Feature image: Canva.

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