Comparison · checked September 2026

MyLoco vs WhatsApp

Both show someone where you are for a while and then stop. WhatsApp does it inside a chat. MyLoco does it with a link that anyone can open.

WhatsApp is how most people already share their location. You open the chat you’re in, pick how long, and everyone in it sees you move on a map. It is end-to-end encrypted, so WhatsApp itself can’t see where you are. If the person you’re meeting is already in your WhatsApp, that is hard to beat, and this page won’t pretend otherwise.

MyLoco exists for everyone else. The buyer from a marketplace, the friend of a friend, the plumber, the date you haven’t swapped numbers with yet. Sharing on WhatsApp means they need WhatsApp and a chat with you, and when the timer runs out your last location is still sitting in that chat. MyLoco sends a link. They open it in a browser, nobody signs up, and when the share ends there is nothing left to find.

Side by side

WhatsApp column from WhatsApp’s own Help Center and blog as of September 2026; details and dates under “How we checked.”

Why “temporary” is the whole difference

WhatsApp has a timer too. What differs is where the share lives and what it leaves behind.

• The other person needs nothing. WhatsApp live location goes into an individual or group chat, so the person watching needs WhatsApp, an account, and a conversation with you. A MyLoco link opens in any browser on any phone or computer.
• Nothing stays in a chat. When WhatsApp live location stops, the people you shared with still see a thumbnail of it, and tapping it shows your last updated location. It stays in the chat history like any other message. When a MyLoco share ends, the position is erased and the link goes dead.
• No account, no phone number. A WhatsApp account is registered to a phone number. Optional usernames, which WhatsApp is still rolling out, can keep the number private from people who don’t already have it. MyLoco never asks for a number or an account in the first place.
• Groups include people without the app. In a WhatsApp group, everyone who shares appears on one map, and so does everyone in a MyLoco group. The difference is the watch link: someone who isn’t in the group, or doesn’t have the app, can still follow along in a browser.

The long version of this argument is in Temporary location sharing, explained.

Where WhatsApp is ahead

It’s already on almost every phone, so there is nothing to install and nothing to explain. Live location is end-to-end encrypted, which a browser link can’t be: MyLoco’s server has to see a position to show it to someone without an app, even if it erases it the moment the share ends. You share straight into the conversation you are already having, with a comment if you like, and the people in it see you move without leaving the chat. It works on iPhone today. If everyone you’re meeting is already in the same WhatsApp chat, use WhatsApp. We would rather say so than pretend.

Getting MyLoco

MyLoco is free on the App Store and Google Play. The people you share with need neither: a MyLoco share opens in Safari, Chrome or any other browser.

Sending a driver or a technician to a customer?

WhatsApp live location is something a person shares from their phone, into a chat. A business that wants one tracking link per delivery, created from its own system and with its own name on the page, needs something else, and a customer shouldn’t have to be in a chat with your driver to watch the van arrive. MyLoco for Business gives you an API that creates a temporary live tracking link, feeds it from the driver’s phone, tells you by webhook when it ends, and deletes the position afterwards.

POST /v1/shares  →  tracking URL  →  live location for the customer
                 →  webhook when it ends  →  position deleted

Retention is off unless you turn it on (opt-in, up to 90 days, and it belongs to your business; the customer’s page says so). Plans start at $29/month after a free trial; the endpoints are on the API page and the product on MyLoco for Business.

Which one for what

• Friends and family already in a WhatsApp chat together: WhatsApp. It is encrypted and it’s where the conversation is.
• Someone who isn’t in your WhatsApp, like a buyer, a date, a client or a contractor: MyLoco. They get a link for an hour, not a chat with you.
• Someone who doesn’t use WhatsApp at all: MyLoco. A browser is all they need.
• A group where not everyone has the app: MyLoco, for the shared map and the watch link.
• When you’d rather your last location didn’t stay in a chat: MyLoco. There is nothing left afterwards.
• A business sending people to customers: MyLoco for Business.

How we checked

WhatsApp facts come from WhatsApp’s own pages as of September 2026: the Help Center articles “How to use live location” (Android and iOS versions), “About sharing your device’s location,” “How to register your phone number” and “About usernames,” the WhatsApp Blog post “Share your live location” (17 October 2017), and whatsapp.com. WhatsApp’s help pages don’t list the exact share lengths on offer, so this page doesn’t either. MyLoco facts describe the app as shipped. If something here is out of date, write to hello@myloco.app and we will fix it. WhatsApp is a trademark of WhatsApp LLC; MyLoco is not affiliated with WhatsApp or Meta.

Fair questions