Importance of Sharing Locations in My Marriage
Why I Started Sharing My Location with My Husband:
Do you remember when the tracking apps just started to come out? The apps were promoted to use by families. It was used so that parents knew where their child was at all times.
18-year-old me was horrified. I would have hated my parents having that much access to me as a child. When I learned about the apps, I wanted nothing to do with them.
Fast forward a few years, and I started to date this incredible man. My husband has strong values and is the most compassionate human. But. He is a man, and he is protective.
So the first time I went out for drinks without him, he asked me to please download the app. Just for his peace of mind.
I rolled my eyes and obliged, telling him he worried too much. I quickly installed the app and added him to my “family”. I left the house and met up with some of my old friends.
While I was at the bar that night, I mentioned to my friends that I downloaded this app. I explained that “it was nice to be with someone who cared enough about me to want to know where I was.”
They told me I was “being controlled”. That I was “giving up my freedom”. One friend even told me that this was toxic and I should go meet someone else. I had trust issues in the past so I found this to be extremely hurtful.
I was very defensive about this. I knew he wanted this app simply because I would be drinking with people he didn’t know well. So in an emergency, he could come to pick me up. I knew that this was not a malicious or controlling move by my (at the time) boyfriend.
Well, we didn’t listen to what ANYONE said about this kind of technology. We decided to continue using it, simply for peace of mind.
It has been nearly 9 years since I first downloaded that app. There have been so many benefits of having family tracking for us.
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Stay Connected:
As a stay-at-home mother, I tend to pop from store to store. Or I will run errands all around town. My days are often sporadic, deciding at the last minute that we want to play at the park or go see a friend. I do my best to update my husband on where we are going during the day, but it is nice for him to see where I am, especially if I am not responding to texts or I missed a phone call.
Coordination:
When we are meeting at an event, there have been countless times that my husband has been held up at work. It has helped to coordinate our plans with our friends when I glance at the app, and see that he is five minutes away or if he is an hour away. I honestly use family tracking for this more than anything else.
Safety:
We share our locations with one another first and foremost for safety. I don’t go to the bar or have late nights like the young 22-year-old I did, but there have been times I am grateful he knew where I was.
Years ago, I hit a curb and blew out my tire. I was hysterical because I had my daughter in the car and slid on black ice. I wasn’t sure of the area and was having a hard time explaining my location. He could see the address before I could pull myself together he was already on his way to come to get us. This allowed me to sit with my baby while he took care of the logistics of my car.
Emergency Situations:
In an emergency, knowing my husband’s location has been crucial. He has had some pretty risky jobs in the past, and knowing his location was essential for me in those days. There were days I would check his location as he went to a job site, mentally calculating his distance from me.
If either of us was ever in a car accident or has a medical emergency, we would be able to quickly find one another.
Trust:
I share my location with my husband because I have nothing to hide. I want him to feel comfortable with me leaving the house. I want him to know that I will go where I say I am going and that he can always trust my word.
If he is ever wary about what I am up to, he is free to look at the app that we are using. This has built so much trust in our marriage.
Peace of Mind:
As I stated at the top of the page, this has given us such peace of mind. Especially now that we have children. It is so nice to know where everyone in my family is.
Sharing Locations:
When it comes to sharing my location with my husband, there are many benefits. It has given us both such peace of mind, as we always know each other's whereabouts and can quickly locate each other in case of an emergency. It has helped with planning, and easily coordinating with one another. It has also deepened our trust and intimacy, bringing us a sense of closeness and openness in your relationship.
Location-Sharing apps:
Find My Friends: This app is designed specifically for location sharing with friends and family, allowing you to see each other's locations on a map in real-time.
Life360: This app offers location sharing as well as other features such as crash detection and emergency response.
Glympse: With Glympse, you can share your location with anyone for a specified period of time, without needing to download an app or create an account.
Apple Find My: This app allows you to share your location with friends and family who also have an Apple device, as well as track lost or stolen Apple devices.
Waze: While primarily a navigation app, Waze also allows you to share your location with friends or family and see their locations on a map.
Zenly: This app provides real-time location sharing, as well as a variety of other features such as "ghost mode" for privacy and a leaderboard for tracking your location history.
