Garmin cyclists can now appear live on Waze maps

Six days after we found Garmin preparing Waze location sharing inside Garmin Connect, the feature is now official and is already starting to roll out worldwide.

From hidden code to an actual feature

We first spotted the feature on November 4 while digging through Garmin Connect 5.31. Our original Garmin and Waze story found references to “Share Location with Waze”, “Share your rides with Waze” and a dedicated Waze location-sharing setup.

At the time, the code made Garmin’s intentions fairly clear, but several important details were missing. We didn’t know when it would launch, whether Garmin Connect+ would be required, what drivers would actually see, or whether Garmin planned a limited regional rollout.

Most of those questions have now been answered.

Cyclists can opt in through Garmin Connect and then start an outdoor cycling activity with LiveTrack enabled. Their location can then appear inside Waze as an active moving cyclist icon, while nearby drivers can receive a warning that a cyclist is in the area.

Waze says the cyclist’s name, identity and exact route are not shown. The sharing is session-based as well, so the cyclist disappears from Waze when the ride ends rather than remaining visible afterwards. Waze says the feature is rolling out globally on both Android and iOS.

No Connect+ subscription required

Another useful detail is that Garmin isn’t putting this behind Connect+. LiveTrack is a free Garmin feature, and Garmin describes the Waze integration as an extension of it.

Of course, you still need a compatible Garmin smartwatch or Edge bike computer, Garmin Connect and a compatible smartphone. But there is no additional subscription requirement.

LiveTrack already lets someone share their position with friends or family, but that person normally has to receive a tracking link and actively follow the ride. Waze takes the same underlying location data and puts it in front of the people who may actually be approaching the cyclist from behind.

A driver doesn’t need Garmin hardware. They don’t need a LiveTrack link either. If they are using Waze and approaching an opted-in Garmin cyclist, the rider can simply appear as another piece of live road information.

That makes the integration feel more like a safety feature than a normal app partnership. Garmin already tackles the problem from the cyclist’s side with products such as Varia radar, which warns the rider about approaching vehicles. Waze effectively attacks the same problem from the opposite direction by warning the driver that a cyclist is ahead.

There are obvious limitations. It only works when the cyclist has compatible Garmin hardware, LiveTrack is running, location sharing has been enabled and the approaching driver is actually using Waze.

But Garmin doesn’t need every cyclist or every driver for the feature to have some value. Even an occasional early warning on a narrow road, blind bend or poorly lit stretch could be useful.