Overview
Google Location Alerts (beta) lets you receive and send alert notifications if Google Latitude friends are nearby when you're somewhere interesting or unusual. Alerts use Location History to send notifications only when they're most likely to be interesting to you and your nearby friends.
Alerts are created when you're stationary and either:
- Near Latitude friends at an unusual place away from your routine locations OR
- Near Latitude friends at a routine place but at an unusual time.
- You receive an alert notification for any nearby friends AND
- Your nearby Latitude friends each receive an alert notification email that you are nearby, even if they haven't yet enabled Location Alerts. Alerts notify friends where you usually are on that day and time to explain why your location is unusual and the alert was sent.
Location History
Location Alerts require that you also enable Location History so that alert notifications are only sent when you're at an unusual place for a given time of day and day of week, filtering out your routine locations. By ignoring your routine locations, such as your daily commute, you and your friends will only get notified when you're somewhere interesting rather than for common or ordinary situations. Location History allows you to view, manage, and delete your past Latitude location history. Learn more about Location History.
Alerts also use your location history to determine how nearby a friend must be to trigger an alert notification. If you're relatively close to your routine locations, the area for nearby friends is smaller, so only friends who are really nearby will get notified. On the other hand, if you're traveling very far away from your routine locations, the area for nearby friends is much larger; notifications will be sent to any friends in your larger general area.
Note: Location Alerts cannot be enabled unless you also enable Location History. It may take up to a week for your location history to provide enough information about which places are routine locations and which should trigger notifications.
Settings
You may receive alert notifications as emails, text messages, or both by choosing the options in the Settings section. By default, email notifications are sent to you and your nearby friends.
Text message notifications are available if you have a phone number stored in Latitude and select the "SMS" option. Normal carrier charges may apply. To add your phone number, you can either:
- Use the Settings section of the Location Alerts page to add and verify your phone number:
- Choose your current country to set the correct country code.
- Enter the rest of your phone number after the country code without any spaces, parentheses, or dashes and Save
- You'll receive a verification code text message. Enter the code in the box in the Alerts Settings and Verify it.
- Open Latitude on BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Symbian S60 phones, select yourself from the friend list, and add your number using the available option.
Enabling
- Go to http://google.com/latitude/apps/alerts
- Sign in to the Google Account you use with Latitude. Google Apps users may need to follow additional steps.
- In Settings, choose to enable Alerts and Location History*.
- Choose your notification settings to receive alerts as emails, text messages, or both.
Disabling
If you have enabled Location Alerts:
- Go to http://google.com/latitude/apps/alerts
- Sign in to the Google Account you use with Google Latitude. Google Apps users may need to follow additional steps.
- In Settings, disable Alerts only or both Alerts and Location History*.
If you have not enabled Location Alerts:
Location Alerts sends notifications to both Locations Alerts users and any of their nearby friends that may or may not have enabled Location Alerts. If you do not want to receive future alert notifications or allow your friends who've enabled Location Alerts to receive alerts when you're nearby, you may opt out your Google Account from Location Alerts entirely.
- Go to http://google.com/latitude/apps/alerts
- Sign in to the Google Account you use with Google Latitude. Google Apps users may need to follow additional steps.
- In Settings, choose the option to opt out of alert notifications.
If you opt out of Location Alerts for your Google Account, you both:
- Prevent future Location Alert notifications from being sent to your Google Account AND
- Prevent your Latitude friends who've enabled Location Alerts to receive notifications when you're nearby.
Privacy
Google Location Alerts is an opt-in feature that you must explicitly choose to enable. Location Alerts only send notifications between existing Google Latitude friends who are currently sharing their best available location with each other and must be enabled by at least one of the friends. Best available location can be either automatically detected or manually set. If either friend is sharing only city level location or hiding, alerts will not be created. If you don't want Latitude friends who've enabled Location Alerts to receive alerts when you are near them, you may either stop sharing your best available location with them or opt out of Location Alerts for your account using the disabling instructions above for those who haven't enabled Location Alerts.
Location Alerts require that you also enable Location History so that alert notifications are only sent when you're at an unusual place for a given time of day and day of week, filtering out your routine locations. Location History allows you to view, manage, and delete your past Latitude location history. Learn more about Location History.
You will automatically receive a monthly email reminding you that you've enabled this and any other Latitude applications. Disable the reminders or change their frequency at http://google.com/latitude/apps/settings
Frequently Asked Questions
I've never enabled Location Alerts. Why did I get an alert notification email and can I opt out of future emails?
A Latitude friend with whom you're sharing your location has enabled Location Alerts. By default, all alert notifications are sent to the opted in Location Alerts user and any nearby friends who are sharing their best available location. You may disable future alert notifications and prevent your friends from being alerted when you're nearby by opting out of Location Alerts completely in the Settings section at http://google.com/latitude/apps/alerts
Can I enable Location Alerts for my Google Apps account?
Yes. You need to sign in to a Google Account created for your Google Apps email address. Learn more.
Can someone use Location Alerts to get notified of my location without my knowledge?
When an alert is created, notifications are sent to both nearby friends. By enabling Location Alerts, you won't share any location information you haven't already shared with a friend. Location Alerts can only be created and sent between existing Latitude friends that can already see each others' best available location.
Can I only receive alert notifications and not have them sent to my nearby friends?
No. Location Alerts send alert notifications to both you and any nearby friends. However, your friends who haven't enabled Location Alerts can choose to not receive notifications by opting out of Location Alerts for their account entirely. Opting out prevents future email notifications and stops Location Alerts from notifying their friends who have enabled Location Alerts.
Why do I get alert notifications when I'm traveling with a Latitude friend?
Location Alerts have no way of knowing whether you're consciously traveling with a friend, spouse, etc. to an unusual location, so you may both receive alert notifications since you're near each other and you're away from your routine locations. We're continuing to work on improving this situation, if possible.
Can I choose only specific Latitude friends for Location Alerts?
No. Location Alerts are enabled or disabled for your Google Account for all Latitude friends together.
Can I be alerted when a friend arrives at a specific place I choose?
No. Location Alerts only allow you to be notified when friends are nearby.
Why didn't I get an alert notification when I was at an unusual location and near a Latitude friend?
Several reasons can cause Location Alerts to not send notifications when you were near a friend. You or your friend may or may not have:
- Been stationary long enough.
- Been sharing best available location at the time.
- Had enough location history to determine when you were at an unusual location.
- Had updated your locations recently from Latitude on your phone or computer.
- Manually set your location. Alerts only check for nearby friends the instant you set your location manually.
My alerts are not interesting or useful!
Location Alerts are a beta feature, and we're continuing to improve how, when, and to whom they are sent. Please use the feedback form at the bottom of the alert notification email to let us know how a specific alert could have been improved (English only) or let us know in the Google Mobile Help Forum (Limited language availability).
