How many phone calls have you made or received that start with the question, “Where are you?” or if you’re into radio 10-codes, “What’s your 10-20?” Or if you’re backwoods or urban chic, “Where you at?” This question is a new question. Before mobile phones, no one asked this question, unless they were roaming through a dark house together. Everyone was where they were and that was that. People made appointments, and kept them, because there was no way to cancel last minute or call someone and ask, “Where you at?”
Well, this is the 21st century, and in the 21st century nobody makes phone calls anymore, especially to ask simple questions that can easily and more effectively be answered by the computers. OK, I’m being a bit facetious, people still make phone calls to order take out, but in all seriousness, pulling up a map and seeing exactly where your friend is on a map in real-time is way more effective than calling them on the phone, asking "Where you at?" and then trying to piece together their verbal description of their location into your mental map of the world, especially if you’re in an unfamiliar place.
But enough pseudotechnophilosophizing, let's get down to business. This post is about using your Insane Audio product to see where your friends are (at), whether you’re on a road trip, on a 4-wheeling adventure, or just cruising by their neighborhood for Friday happy hour. You and your friend(s) need a Gmail address to use this functionality with your Insane Audio product. Follow the steps outlined below to share your location with friends through Google Maps. Have your friends follow the same steps to share their location with you, or send them a request. Now you can always know where the homies are at… well, as long as they decide to keep sharing with you.
How to Share Your Location Through Google Maps
• Download Google Maps from the Google Play Store.
• Add your friend’s Gmail address to your Google Contacts, if you haven't already. Steps for doing this are included later in this post.
• Tap Apps on the home screen to open your apps list.
• Find and open Google Maps by swiping left on the apps list, then tapping Maps.
• Sign in to Google, if you haven’t already. Steps for signing into Google are included later in this post.
• Next, tap the Menu icon, the three lines in the upper left. If you just signed in, you may need to tap on your email address to switch from the account menu to the Google Maps menu.
• Tap Location sharing, then scroll down and tap TURN ON.
• Tap Add people (icon in the upper right) OR tap the Get Started button.
• Set how long you want to share your location. You can choose to share for as little as 15 mins or indefinitely. You can stop sharing your
location at any time.
• Tap Select People. Tap ALLOW to give Google Maps access to your contacts.
• Find and tap the contact you want to share your location with.
• Tap Share.
Download Google Maps from the Google Play Store
Open Google Maps
Tap the menu icon in the upper left and then tap Location sharing
Scroll down and tap TURN ON
Tap the Add people icon in the upper right OR tap the GET STARTED button
Set how long you want to share your location then tap Select People
Find and tap the contact you want to share your location with
Now your friend can see “where you at”
Now your friend can see your location / your vehicle's location, in real-time on Google Maps. Now you might be thinking, "I thought this post was about finding my friends not them finding me?!" Fret not! Now that you have shared your location with your friend, you can request that they share their location with you. Kind of like, “I’ll show you my location if you show me yours.”
Here’s how to ask nicely: How to Ask a Friend to Share Their Location
• In the Google Maps app, tap Menu > Location sharing.
• Tap a contact who you have shared your location with or who’s shared their location with you previously.
• Tap Request > Request.
Tap a contact who you have shared your location with then tap REQUEST
Now you can see where your friend’s at too!
For each friend that is currently sharing their location with you, you will see a pin on the map showing their location in real-time. If your friend has a photo associated with their account, that photo will be displayed on the pin, if not, the pin will display their first initial. When you’re on a road trip or out on the trail, Insane Audio and Google Maps help take the guesswork and phone calls out of keeping the crew together!
Below are a few more step-by-step instructions as promised earlier in this post, plus some bonus instructions on how to share your ETA through Google Maps. We hope you enjoy using these features as much as we do. We’ll see you out there on the trail!
How to Add Your Friend’s Gmail Address to Google Contacts
• Open the Google Contacts app, it shows up as “Contacts” in your apps list.
• Find the contact you want to add a Gmail address to OR tap the blue circle in the lower right to add a new contact.
• Enter your friend’s contact information, including Gmail Address.
• Tap the blue check mark at the top of the page.
Enter your friend’s contact information, including Gmail Address.
How to Sign in to Google
• Open Google Maps.
• Tap Menu, the three lines icon in the upper left.
• Tap Sign in.
• Enter your Google/Gmail credentials.
• Tap I agree if you agree to Google’s Terms and Conditions.
Sign in with your Google credentials to share your location with your friends
How to Share Your ETA
• After you start navigating with Google Maps, you can share your destination, estimated arrival time, and where you are on the route.
• Open Google Maps.
• Set a driving destination.
• After you start navigation, tap the More icon “^” in the bottom right and then tap Share trip progress.
• Choose a person from the list. This smart list shows contacts you’ve previously shared your location or ETA with, so you can quickly share again.
• Tap Share.
• Location sharing will stop when you reach your destination or stop navigating.
• To stop sharing before you arrive, tap More and then Stop sharing.
After you start navigation, tap the More icon “^” in the bottom right and then tap Share trip progress.
This smart list shows contacts you’ve previously shared your location or ETA with, so you can quickly share with them again.