Share GPS turns your Android phone or tablet into an open-standards GPS receiver for laptops, chartplotters, Raspberry Pi systems, and other devices or apps that need live position data.
It uses the standard formats navigation and mapping software already understands: NMEA 0183, gpsd, and KML. There is no Share GPS-specific protocol or receiving app.
LIVE GPS OUTPUT
• NMEA 0183 sentences, using the device’s native NMEA output or generated from Android location fixes
• A built-in gpsd-compatible server that answers common gpsd commands, for clients such as cgps, xgps, gpspipe, and OpenCPN
• Network over Wi-Fi or mobile data: NMEA over TCP (server or client) or UDP (client); gpsd over TCP or UDP (server)
• Bluetooth: serial port profile (SPP), which appears as a COM or serial port on the computer
• USB: through the Android debug bridge (adb) port forward
REMOTE CONNECTIONS
To reach the phone from outside your local network, run the connection over a VPN. Share GPS has been tested with Tailscale; OpenVPN, WireGuard, or any VPN that gives the two devices an IP route to each other should work the same way.
KML FOR GOOGLE EARTH AND OTHER KML READERS
• Placemark: write your current position to a KMZ file, once or repeatedly, so someone else can follow along with a network link
• Track: record where you have been, pause and resume, then save the track to the library
• Send a recording live while it grows, or send a saved track later
• Destinations: an SSH server (SCP, with password or key), Google Drive, local storage, or any app through Android’s share sheet
• Choose the placemark icon, and attach your own icons and photos (Premium)
GPS DASHBOARD
• Position and motion layouts showing coordinates, altitude, speed, direction, distance travelled, distance from start, and track time
• Your choice of units and coordinate formats
• One-tap copy, with a template you can edit to build a link or message around your location
• Satellites view: constellation, signal strength, and which satellites are used in the fix
• Accuracy view: DOP values and estimated error
• Optional mean-sea-level altitude correction
• Dark and Daylight themes
RUNS IN THE BACKGROUND
Share GPS keeps streaming and recording with the screen off. A notification shows that it is running and can display live position, motion, or track data.
PREMIUM (ONE-TIME PURCHASE)
Free includes one saved connection profile and up to two saved tracks. Premium adds:
• Several connections running at the same time
• Connect automatically when the app starts
• Multi-server: more than one client on the same port
• More than two saved tracks
• Custom icons and photos in KML placemarks and tracks
No ads. GPS data is shared only through the connections you configure.
User guide and support: https://www.brilliantmantis.com/apps/share-gps/
