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UFL | Life

How Safe Is It to Share Your Location?

Nicole Scura Student Contributor, University of Florida
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UFL chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

Lately, sharing your location with friends has grown in popularity. It is convenient knowing when your friend is coming to pick you up, if anyone is on campus to grab lunch or if your roommate went home for the weekend. 

CivicScience data from 2025 found that “Gen Z adults aged 18-29 are the most likely to use location sharing (65%), which embodies most of the students at the University of Florida.

My mom always warned me about my online footprint. All my accounts were private, I triple-checked what I posted (with her approval), and I would need her password to download apps. So naturally, alarms go off in my head when someone asks me to share my location – which is all the time. I even had a teacher recommend that I share my location for safety purposes when going out on assignments. It is truly just the way of the world now. 

But this can also be dangerous.

While we want to be quick to make friends, especially in college with new people, we really don’t know a lot of people’s backgrounds. Maybe they’re secretly crazy. Maybe they’re the type to get mad when you’re doing something without them. Maybe they’re controlling. Not only can this create unhealthy relationships, but it can also be intrusive and compromise your safety.

It is important to set boundaries. When sharing your location, set it to a limited time period. That way, your friend can track you as you drive to pick them up, but they can’t stalk you on Find My Friends when they’re bored. 

However, there are pros to location sharing. Whether it’s your significant other, parents, siblings, friends, etc., they can look out for your safety. For example, Life360 notifies other members of a circle when one is in a car accident or when one disables their location. These can provide life-saving red flags, allowing you to ensure their safety.

Ultimately, it is important to identify when the information you’re sharing is too much. Trust the people you give your location to, ideally limit the number, and use your best discretion. Know the risks and take it from there.

Nicole Scura

UFL '25

Hey there, my name is Nicole! I am from Tampa, Florida and a sophomore attending the University of Florida with a major in journalism on a broadcast track. I have a passion for communications and love to write! Some interesting things about me: I competitively figure skated for about 10 years, I have 2 sisters, and I love sports (my favorite teams are the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Tampa Bay Lightning).

As I make my way through my sophomore year of undergrad, I am as motivated as ever to excel in the journalism program. I want to continue to learn and grow even after I have graduated and I think the natural curiosity tied to journalism will help me accomplish this.