THE LOCATE LINK
Help anyone give you their current what3words address with this link: locate.what3words.com
Useful for people who struggle with technology
With a click of the link, the recipient’s current what3words address is displayed on their screen, allowing them to easily share their exact location by copying the words into a message, or speaking them over the phone.
Easily find out exactly where they are
Save the Locate Link so you’re prepared to send it if someone you care for is lost or can’t describe where they are. Helpful for parents and carers, it provides a very accurate location so the recipient can be located quickly.
Works in areas with poor data connection
The web page has been designed to have a low data requirement of just 25KB, so it should load even in places where you don’t have much data available.
FAQs
How do I bookmark the link?
To bookmark on your Smartphone using Chrome:
1. Open the Locate Link in Chrome
2. Go to the page you want to bookmark
3. Tap the three dots
4. Tap the Star to bookmark the page
To bookmark on your Smartphone using Safari:
1. Open the Locate Link in Safari
2. Tap on the Share icon
3. Scroll down and tap Add Bookmark
Do I need to set anything up on their phone for this to work?
For the Locate Link to work, the phone will need to have location settings turned on for the browser being used e.g. Chrome or Safari.
The browser needs location services to be on for the GPS to work.
You can check this on a device by opening the Locate Link, if the what3words address is showing then the location settings are switched on. No further action needed, this should work fine.
If you get a prompt to say “Allow location services” select “Allow”.
If no pop up or prompt appears automatically, and the what3words address isn’t showing, then go to the phone’s location settings, and allow location services for that browser.
How do I share the link?
Simply copy the link locate.what3words.com and share it in your messaging app of choice.
How is the Locate Link different from the app?
The Locate Link is simply a URL that doesn’t require anyone to download anything. All it needs is for them to have data or wifi to be able to open the link in their device’s browser. It’s particularly useful for people that might struggle to download or use an app.
What happens if the person I’m trying to locate doesn’t have data?
If the person you’re trying to locate doesn’t have data or wifi, the Locate Link won’t be able to work. However, the web page is incredibly data light and only needs around 25kb to open. So even having just a small amount of data should be enough to load the page.
Can I share the Locate Link from the app?
This is not currently available in the what3words app. We may consider adding it in the future if feedback is positive.