Is simply knowing where your friends are not enough? Well, Apple’s vision involves real-time tracking. The U.S. Patent Office awarded the company a patent entitled “Sharing location information among devices” that essentially describes one person being able to use his or her smartphone to see where another person is moving about.

Although this real-time GPS tracking might sound incredibly pervasive, there are benefits. For instance, those who enjoy hiking solo could permit someone to keep tabs on their path. Or, college students walking home at night could let a roommate or parent watch their route and ensure they get home safely.

The patent also says phone users would be able to share mapped directions so the person or people watching the route could easily find them. It also describes a “mirroring” mode that lets users replicate the other’s screen. Of course, privacy is a concern, but the user would have to enable the setting in order to be tracked.