Live location while freediving and spearfishing
on Apple Watch Ultra
Send one web link, and anyone can follow your session live: where you are on the water, how many dives, how deep and how long. In any browser, from anywhere with internet, with no app to install.
Where you are on the water, for anyone you send it to
A freediving or spearfishing session can run for hours, often out of sight of anyone on land. Live Share turns your Apple Watch Ultra and iPhone into a live page: one link that shows your position on a map and how the session is going, updated each time you surface.
Send it to anyone who wants to know where you are on the water. They open it in a browser, on a phone or a computer, wherever they are. There is nothing for them to download and no account to make.
Live Share works on any Open Water session, freediving or spearfishing, from the first dive to the last.
Start it, send it, go diving
Start Live Share
On your iPhone, open FreeDive Ultra and go to Settings, then Open Water, then Live Share. Tap Start Live Share and accept the notice.
Send the link
Tap Send Link and pick Messages, WhatsApp or anywhere else. There is one link per share, and you can send it to as many people as you want.
Go diving
Start an Open Water session on your Apple Watch Ultra as normal. The page goes live on its own, and a Live Share banner sits at the top of your iPhone logbook while it runs.
A live page, in any browser
How updates reach the page
Your iPhone, nearby and online
The iPhone does the sending, so keep it on your buoy or in the boat, with mobile data or Wi-Fi.
An update each time you surface
GPS signals do not reach you underwater, and the watch only reaches the iPhone above water. Lift your wrist clear for 10 to 20 seconds at the surface and the page catches up.
A link that lasts the trip
The link expires 24 hours after your last session starts. Start another session before then and it keeps going. End it any time on your iPhone with Slide to End.
Live Share is not a safety device. It raises no alarm and cannot call for help, and updates can stop or arrive late: no reception, the watch out of range, a GPS error, a flat battery. Always dive with a buddy.
The whole route, after the session
This guide came out of a thread on r/Spearfishing about sharing your live location on the water.
Live location, answered
Can I share my live location while freediving?
Yes. On Apple Watch Ultra with FreeDive Ultra, start Live Share on your iPhone and send the link. During an Open Water session the page shows where you are on a map and how the session is going, updated each time you surface.
Can I share my live location while spearfishing?
Yes. Live Share works the same on a spearfishing session: keep your iPhone on the buoy or in the boat, and anyone with the link can see where you are on the water, how many dives you have done and how deep you went.
How can I track someone freediving or spearfishing?
Ask them to send you their Live Share link. If they dive with FreeDive Ultra on Apple Watch Ultra, the link opens in your browser and shows where they are on the water, how many dives they have done and how deep they went, updated each time they surface. There is nothing to install.
Does GPS work underwater?
No. GPS signals do not reach you underwater, so your position updates when you surface. Lift your wrist clear of the water for 10 to 20 seconds and the page catches up. It always shows how long ago the last update arrived.
Does the person following need the app?
No. It is a web link that opens in any browser, on a phone or a computer, from anywhere with internet. There is nothing to download and no account to make.
Does it work without phone signal?
Not without internet on your iPhone. It needs mobile data or Wi-Fi to send updates. Without reception, updates stop or arrive late, and the page shows how long ago the last one arrived.
How long does the link last?
The link expires 24 hours after your last session starts. Start another session before then and it keeps going, so one link can cover a whole trip. You can end it any time from your iPhone.
Can I send the link to more than one person?
Yes. There is one link per share, and you can send it to as many people as you want, one at a time or to a group.
Which Apple Watch does it work on?
Every Apple Watch Ultra: the original, Ultra 2, Ultra 3 and Ultra 4, paired with your iPhone. The depth sensor is what FreeDive Ultra runs on, and only the Ultra has one.
Does it replace a buddy?
No. Live Share is not a safety device. It raises no alarm and cannot call for help, and updates can stop or arrive late. It shows a page to whoever opens it, nothing more. Always dive with a buddy.
Let them follow along
Free to download. Start Live Share on your iPhone before your next Open Water session.