Location sharing can be a seat belt. It should not become an ankle monitor.

Use it for a clear purpose and period: a first date, solo drive, hike, late-night walk or rideshare. Choose one or two trusted people, agree on when they should check in and turn sharing off when the event ends. Rideshare platforms can share a trip’s driver, vehicle, route and estimated arrival without exposing every ordinary Tuesday afterward.

Review who already has access. Remove former partners, old roommates and forgotten group members. Protect the account with a unique password and multifactor authentication. Remember that photos, fitness apps and social posts may reveal location even when the blue dot is off.

If someone demands permanent access, becomes angry when you pause sharing or uses your location to question and control you, the issue is not safety. It is surveillance. The CDC includes monitoring and coercive behaviors within the broader landscape of intimate-partner harm.

Parents can ask for event-based sharing rather than continuous proof of whereabouts. “Send me the ride details tonight” respects adulthood more than “I need to see where you are at all times.”

The best safety tool increases freedom. If it steadily reduces yours, reconsider who is holding it.

Sources: Uber trip-sharing safety guidance and CDC intimate-partner violence data

Related reading: What Every Young Adult Should Know Before Moving Away From Home

This article provides general educational information and is not a substitute for individualized legal, medical, financial or safety advice.