Add a shareable location link

[imaman]

Description

Added a link that allows to open the app at the exact same location list. Effectively, it makes it possible to share your location configuration with others

Type of Change

• 🐛 Bug fix (non-breaking change which fixes an issue)
• [+] ✨ New feature (non-breaking change which adds functionality)
• 💥 Breaking change (fix or feature that would cause existing functionality to not work as expected)
• 📚 Documentation update
• 🧹 Code refactoring (no functional changes)
• ⚡ Performance improvement
• 🔒 Security fix

Related Issue

Fixes #(issue number)

Testing

• [+] Unit tests pass (npm run test:unit)
• [+] Integration tests pass (npm run test:integration)
• [+] E2E tests pass (npm run test:e2e)
• Linting passes (npm run lint)
• [+] Manual testing completed

Test Coverage

• Added tests for new functionality
• Updated existing tests
• Tests cover edge cases

Screenshots (if applicable)

Checklist

Code Quality

• Code follows existing style guidelines
• Self-review completed
• Code is commented where necessary
• No console.log statements left in production code

Functionality

• [+] Real-time updates work correctly
• [+] WebSocket connections handle properly
• [+] Hebrew RTL support maintained
• [+] Mobile responsiveness preserved
• [+] Location filtering works as expected

Documentation

• README updated (if needed)
• API documentation updated (if needed)
• Comments added for complex logic

Security & Performance

• No sensitive data exposed
• API rate limits respected
• Memory leaks prevented
• Error handling implemented

Additional Notes

Any additional information, warnings, or considerations for reviewers.

Deployment Considerations

• No environment variables changes needed
• No database migrations required
• No breaking changes to API
• Safe to deploy to production

[barlevalon]

Hey @imaman, thanks for adding the shareable link feature!

While testing it out, I ran into some UX questions that I think we should figure out before moving forward.

The Issues I Found

• URL params stick around after page load, so refreshing always reverts to the shared locations
• The shared locations get merged with saved preferences instead of replacing them
• It's not clear what should happen when someone clicks a shared link

The Big Question: What's this feature for?

I can think of a few use cases:

1. Emergency sharing: "Check out what's happening in these areas right now"
2. Setup help: "Here are the locations I monitor, you should too"
3. Temporary viewing: "Look at these locations without messing up your own settings"

Different Types of Users

Think about:

• Someone who uses the site daily and has their locations saved - should clicking a friend's link change their setup?
• Someone checking a link quickly - do they expect it to remember these locations?
• A new user arriving through a shared link - should this become their default?

Some Options

Option A: Keep it temporary

• Show the shared locations but don't save them
• Add a banner like "Viewing alerts for: Tel Aviv, Haifa [Save these locations]"
• Clean up the URL right away

Option B: Replace preferences

• Shared link = new preferences
• Good if we're thinking of this as a "share my setup" feature

Option C: Ask the user

• New users: Just save the shared locations
• Existing users: "You have saved locations. Switch to: Tel Aviv, Haifa?"

What do you think? How do you see people using this?