How to Share a Google Maps List and Let Friends Add Places

To share a Google Maps list, open the Google Maps app, tap You, open the list and tap Share (on iPhone, tap More next to the list, then Share list), then send the link. That link lets people view the list and save it to their own map. If you want friends to add places too, tap Invite collaborators instead. On a computer, go to Saved, click More next to the list and choose Send a link to view or Invite to edit.

Below are the exact steps for iPhone, Android and a computer, checked against Google's help pages on November 2, 2026, plus what the people you share with can see and how to fix a shared list that won't show up.

Share a list or invite collaborators: what's the difference?

Google Maps gives you two kinds of link, and they do different things. Google's help page on lists describes both:

Neither works for Starred places. Google's desktop help says plainly: "You can't share starred places." A Google Product Expert gave the same answer in a 2019 Google Maps community thread and suggested sharing Favorites, Want to go or a new list instead. If your places sit in Starred, save them into a new list first. Our guide to Want to go and Travel plans in Google Maps explains what each default list is for.

How to share a Google Maps list on iPhone

1. Open the Google Maps app and tap You at the bottom. Some versions still label this tab Saved.
2. Find the list under your lists and tap More (the three dots) next to it.
3. Tap Share list to send a view link, or Invite collaborators to let others edit.
4. Pick how to send it: Messages, WhatsApp, email or copy the link.

To invite editors later, tap More next to the list, then Sharing options, then Invite editors under "Edit options," and choose who gets the link.

How to share a Google Maps list on Android

1. Open the Google Maps app and tap You.
2. Open the list you want to share.
3. Tap Share to send a view link. To let others add places, tap Invite collaborators instead.
4. Choose an app to send it with, or copy the link.

Android has the same editor setting: You > More next to the list > Sharing options > Invite editors. Android also has an option iPhone's help doesn't list: open the list, tap Edit and turn on Customize list order, then drag places by the four lines on the left. For a trip, that lets you put each day's stops in order before you share.

How to share a Google Maps list from a computer

Google's desktop help covers sharing from a browser, so you don't need your phone:

1. Open Google Maps and click Menu > Saved. If you don't see Saved, it's behind the menu icon at the top left.
2. Click More next to the list.
3. Choose Send a link to view to share a read-only link, or Sharing options to switch the list between Private ("Only you can find your lists") and Shared ("Anyone with your link can find your lists").
4. To invite editors, click More > Invite to edit > Get a link, then Copy the link and send it.

A computer is also the easier place to write notes on each place before you share. On iPhone, Google says notes on a place in a list can be up to 4,000 characters, which is enough for a day number, an opening time and the reason it's on the list.

What the people you share with can see

Sharing a list shows more than the places. Google's help says: "Anyone who can view your lists can also view the names and profile pictures of people who have joined the list. They can also view who has added or edited places and notes on the list."

That matters if you post a list link in a public group or on social media. Your notes go with the list, and so do the names of everyone who edits it. For a list you want strangers to see, keep it view-only and keep personal details out of the notes.

When someone receives your view link, they can:

• Open it in the Google Maps app or a browser and browse the places.
• Tap Save list. The list then appears in their app under "Lists you saved," and its places show on their main map unless they hide the list.
• Follow it on a computer. Clicking Follow adds the list to their Saved, and Google says the places "also appear as suggested locations in Google Maps."

Saving or following a view-only list doesn't let them change it; for that, they need an Invite collaborators link.

How to find a list someone shared with you

If a friend sent you a list and you can't find it in the app, check these in order:

1. Did you save it? Opening the link isn't enough. Open the link again and tap Save list, or Follow on a computer.
2. Look under Lists you saved. In the app, tap You and scroll past your own lists.
3. Check the account. Saved lists belong to the Google account that saved them. If you have two accounts in Google Maps, tap your profile picture and switch.
4. Check that it's not hidden. Next to the list, tap More. If you see Show on your map, the list is hidden from the main map; tap it.

To remove a list someone shared with you, Google's help says to tap Saved on the list. On a computer, click the list, then Following, to unfollow.

How to stop sharing a Google Maps list or remove editors

• Stop others from editing. Open Sharing options for the list (from More next to it, on any device) and turn off Let others edit this list (Android) or Let others edit your list (iPhone and computer). Google lists this under removing editors.
• Stop sharing it entirely. On a computer, go to Saved > More next to the list > Sharing options and choose Private. Google describes Private as "Only you can find your lists," so the old link should stop working for everyone else. Google documents the Private option on the computer help page; on a phone, check the list's Sharing options.
• Delete it. You > More next to the list > Delete list removes the list.

If you shared a list for a past trip, setting it to Private afterward is a good habit, especially if collaborators added notes with addresses or booking details.

Shared list not showing or not working?

Most problems with shared lists come down to one of these causes. Check them before you reinstall anything.

The last row comes from user reports about Maps links in general, not lists in particular. In an April 2026 Local Guides forum thread about shared place links opening an error page, one member advised that "the correct way is to use the share button to copy a link," and the person who reported the problem said reinstalling Google Maps fixed it for them.

If your own saved places are the ones missing, our guide to Google Maps saved places not showing covers the other causes.

Sharing a list for a trip: what works

A list is the quickest way to give travel companions every place on one map, but it doesn't know which day a place belongs to. A few habits close that gap:

• Make one list per trip, named for the city and dates, rather than sharing a long list of everything you've saved.
• Put the day in each note, such as "Day 2, morning" and the reason it's on the list. Collaborators see the notes.
• Order the list by day on Android with Customize list order.
• Send each day's route separately. A list gives people the places; a Google Maps directions link for the day tells them where to go next. Our guide to sharing a trip itinerary with family and friends compares lists with PDFs, My Maps and route links, and planning a group trip itinerary covers agreeing on the plan first.
• Move to My Maps for a day-by-day map. If you want each day in its own color, a list won't do it. Our guides to exporting a Google Maps list and importing a file into Google My Maps cover the move.

People also ask how to share a list with ChatGPT or Gemini. A chatbot reads little from a list link, so paste the place names instead; our guide to using ChatGPT with Google Maps covers that.

Where Vidtrip fits

Vidtrip, the tool we make, doesn't create Google Maps lists. It turns one YouTube travel video into a day-by-day plan, and the plan gives each stop a Google Maps link and each day a Google Maps route, which is often what companions need more than a list: today's stops, in order. The plan also downloads as a KML file for Google My Maps, where you can share a map with one layer per day.

To see what you'd be sharing, open the Lisbon example plan, which is free. For your own video, paste the link, answer four questions and pay $4.99 once; the plan is built in about a minute, and the payment is refunded automatically if the video can't be planned from.