Google Latitude

Google Latitude
Google Latitude logo
Type of site
Social Networking, Location-based service
Available inMultilingual
Predecessor(s)Dodgeball
Successor(s)Google+ (2013-2017)
Google Maps (2017-present)
OwnerGoogle
URLlatitude.google.com (defunct)
CommercialYes
RegistrationRequired
LaunchedFebruary 5, 2009; 15 years ago (2009-02-05)
Current statusDiscontinued – August 9, 2013; 11 years ago (2013-08-09)

Google Latitude was a location-aware feature of Google Maps, developed by Google as a successor to its earlier SMS-based service Dodgeball. Latitude allowed a mobile phone user to allow certain people to view their current location. Via their own Google Account, the user's cell phone location was mapped on Google Maps. The user could control the accuracy and details of what each of the other users can see — an exact location could be allowed, or it could be limited to identifying the city only. For privacy, it could also be turned off by the user, or a location could be manually entered. Users had to explicitly opt into Latitude and were only able to see the location of those friends who had decided to share their location with them.[1]

On July 10, 2013, Google announced plans to shut down Latitude, and it was discontinued on August 9, 2013.[2] After the feature moved to Google+ in between, Google incorporated Latitude's location sharing feature into Google Maps in March 2017.[3][4]

  1. ^ "See where your friends are with Google Latitude". Google Blog. February 4, 2009. Archived from the original on December 30, 2009. Retrieved October 6, 2023.
  2. ^ Maps for mobile. "Latitude will be retired". Google Inc. Archived from the original on August 14, 2015. Retrieved August 14, 2015.
  3. ^ Perez, Sarah (March 22, 2017). "Google Maps will let you share your location with friends and family for a specific period of time". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on March 22, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  4. ^ "Google removes location sharing from Google+ as it appears for more Google Maps users". 9to5Google. March 28, 2017. Retrieved August 14, 2018.