From PC Mag: Google is shuttering its emergency location sharing application this year. Trusted Contacts has already been pulled from the iOS and Android app stores, and will end support on Dec. 1.
Trusted Contacts launched in December 2016 as a way to tell loved ones you're safe in the event of an emergency; the program let users share their location, even if their phone is offline or out of reach. And because location-sharing works both ways, trusted contacts may request your location if they're worried about your safety.
Users were notified of support ending via email, according to The Verge reporter Ian Carlos Campbell, who published a screenshot of the "abrupt" message. "We launched the Trusted Contacts app as a way to help people stay up to date with their loved ones' whereabouts," the message said. "Since then, we've built this functionality directly into Google Maps with Location Sharing—making it even easier to share your live location with trusted friends and family."
Moving forward, folks will have to rely solely on Google Maps' features, which The Verge called "similar but less helpful." Use the navigation platform to reveal your own whereabouts, ETA, and public transit route, or to request someone else's real-time position. Those who have created trusted contacts, meanwhile, can download them from the service page until Dec. 1. After that, the app will no longer work, and your saved connections will be severed.
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