New York, Mar 28 (IANS): Facebook Messenger has added a new feature Live Location that lets you share -- for an hour within a private direct or group message thread -- your real-time location on a map.

"Live Location is super helpful when trying to coordinate with friends, telling people how close you are when you're on your way to an appointment or even sharing where you are with your roommate when you're on your way home at night," Tech Crunch quoted the feature's product manager Selena Wang as saying.

The feature was available for all iOS and Android Messenger users from Monday.

David Marcus, Head of Messenger, said, "Many of us make plans on Messenger that involve finding each other, or letting friends and loved ones know we're on the way. Sharing your location will also help some of you feel safer on the way home."

To use Live Location, a user can tap the Location button inside a message thread or find it in the More menu. Then on the map, tap the blue bar to start sharing your Live Location.

The recipients will see user's exact current location on a map for 60 minutes, and an estimated time of arrival by car for you to reach them.

A clock in the corner of the map counts down until your location sharing expires, and you can hit 'Stop Sharing' at any time.

The company has said Live Location uses a standard amount of battery and it does not drain the battery quickly.