Google Messages – the stock messaging service on Android devices – is adding a major new feature that’ll help users find each other more easily IRL. The latest beta version of the app features evidence real-time location sharing will soon be integrated.

9to5Google found evidence the feature, which currently lives in the Android Find Hub, will be integrated into the main Google Messages app. This could be a nice option for when you temporarily want to share your whereabouts with a friend or colleague you’re meeting up with, or perhaps on those rare occa

The live location shows the recipient where you’re at in real time, so it could also function as an ETA indicator. Users are able to turn off the live sharing feature after a certain period of time or keep it on indefinitely.

In the code string, 9to5Google spotted a string reading: “Make it easy for friends to find where you are without leaving Google Messages.”

Given this feature already exists in rival app like WhatsApp and iMessage, it was probably only a matter of time before Google Messages added the feature to keep pace.sions you’re in an unfamiliar place and don’t feel 100% safe.

The feature arms race for messaging apps is an all-boats-rise situation, which usually results in all the apps getting all of the features. Just this week, it emerged that WhatsApp is adding support for scheduled messages. WhatsApp Beta Info has discovered the feature in testing on the iOS version of the app.

Meanwhile, both Google and Apple are working on adding end-to-end encryption for RCS-based text messages between iOS and Android devices. The addition of that feature might encourage the use of the stock apps rather than resorting to a third-party service like WhatsApp in the first place.