As far as I gather, these kids have been doing it as a hobby because other apps for quickly sharing a real-time location suck. The short link makes it ideal for sharing via SMS/Twitter, etc.

But great point, they should have a quick demo video, even if they are just a few young hackers. That's probably coming next.

What apps do you need? I know how to share my current location on all major smartphone OSes without needing any apps that aren't built in.

Ok, pretend you are picking me up. Share with me a link where you are right now... even if you are driving.

iOS: Drop a pin in apple maps then click share location within the pin.

I said pretend you were driving.

You're making this too easy.

Pretend you are scuba diving with a propulsion jet, and need to share your location urgently.

:) Love it.

I can do it in about 3-4 clicks. I have never been in a situation where I could not afford 20 seconds to look at my phone, at a light or some such at the worst. I could make a Taskr shortcut or an on{x} shortcut, but that's probably not what you meant.

I think most people use Whatsapp for that. There's a built in feature.

And there were photosharing apps with filters before Instagram. Sometimes solid UX, strong brand, and focusing on what users want can mean the difference. I think these kids are on the right track.

> These are all the things I need to build a simple service that does what's described here. Why is this an app?

I don't understand how listing technologies that might go into making this app obviates the app. How do your two sentences here flow together?