What do you get when you combine Find My iPhone with Find My Friends? According to Apple, you get a handy feature with an funny title: the new Find
My app in iOS 14 features a simple UI that allows users to locate friends, family members, and Apple devices.
It divides this information into 3 tabs with options to play a sound from missing devices, load directions in the Maps app, or set up notifications
to sound when your spouse leaves work. And all of this from a single app!
How to use the Find My app for iPhones in iOS 14
Let’s get started and learn how to use the Find My app for iPhones in iOS 14.
How to Find Your Apple Devices
Tap the Devices tab located at the bottom of the Find My app to reveal a map of your compatible Apple devices. Find My puts a pin on the map at the location of any iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, or AirPod associated with your Apple ID. It also displays your family members’ devices too.
Swipe up from the bottom of the screen to bring up more devices, each with its exact location and distance from you.
If Find My can’t locate a device,
a black screen icon will be displayed instead, along with the last known location.
What It Means When Find My iPhone Is Offline and How to Find It Any. wayWhat does it mean when Find My iPhone says “offline”? How do you find an iPhone that’s
offline? Here are the answers you need.Read More
Get More Details About Each Device
Tap a particular device to view its present address and battery percentage, along with a series of controls to help you retrieve it. If you think you’re close enough, tap Play Sound to make your device ring. Otherwise, tap Directions to launch a route in the Maps app.
Get Notifications for Missing Devices
Starting with iOS 13, you can locate Apple devices even when they aren’t connected to the internet.
Apple makes this possible by creating an encrypted and anonymous Bluetooth network
that connects nearby Apple devices.
Having said that, Find My is still unable to locate your device if it doesn’t have internet connection and Bluetooth isn’t turned on, which could mean
it’s turned off. In this case, enable Notify When Found to receive a notification with its location as soon as Find My detects it.
Mark as Lost to Protect Your Data
If any of your Apple devices is lost or stolen, it’s a good idea to enable Mark As Lost to protect your data and make it easier for people to return your device to you. You
can also provide a phone number with a custom message asking whoever finds it to call you.
When you activate Mark As Lost, Find My will disable sensitive services such Apple Pay on your device and locks it with your passcode. If you haven’t used
a passcode before, you can take this opportunity to create one.
Only Erase Your Device as a Last Resort
Below the other options, there’s also a button to Erase This Device. I suggest you consider this as a last resort, if you believe you’ll never retrieve your device, because after erasing it you cannot track its location any longer.
Having said that,
an erased device is still protected by Apple’sActivation Lock,
preventing anyone who finds it from using it as their own. If you have enabled Mark As Lost, it also still displays your custom message telling people how
to contact you.
How to Find Your Friends and Family
Tap the People tab located at the bottom-left hand corner of Find My in iOS 13 to reveal a map of all the peple who follow your location or share their location with
you.
Just like in the Devices tab, you can then tap each person to get additional information about where they are located. This also provides options to view their details
in the Contacts app or get directions with Maps.
Start Sharing Your Location
In case you haven’t yet shared your location with anyone, tap the button to Start Sharing Location. Otherwise, swipe up to bring up the full list of people you’re
following and tap on Share My Location button located at the bottom.
Search for the contact you want to share your location with by typing in their name, phone number, or Apple ID email address in the search bar. When you tap
Send you can select how long you want to share your location for:
- Share for One Hour
- Share Until End of Day
- or Share Indefinitely.
Ask to Follow Someone Else’s Location
It’s not possible to follow someone else’s location using Find My unless they choose to share it with you. The best way to initiate this is by offering to share
your location first. When you do so, a notification prompts your contact to share their location back.
Alternatively, you can directly ask to follow anyone who is already following you. Tap on their name from the People tab and use the option to Ask to Follow Location.
When they accept, you’ll receive a notification from Find My letting you know they accepted your friend request.
Set Up Notifications When Someone Changes Location
You can opt to send or receive notifications in the Find My app whenever you, or any of your contacts, change location. This can come in handy if you want to
Notify a family member you’re on the way home or if you want to know when your friends arrive at the meeting point.
On the People tab in Find My, tap on the name of the person you want to set up notifications for. Tap Add under the Notifications heading and choose whether
you want to send or receive the notifications, then set the location you plan to leave or arrive at. You can set the location radius to anything from 300
feet to 150 miles.
If you choose to send notifications to someone else, you’ll see an option at the bottom of the screen which allows you to repeat the notifications. This way you can alert
your partner you’re on your way home every time you leave work, without having to do anything.
How to Change Your Find My Settings
In the bottom-right corner of the Find My app is the Me tab. This lets you choose which device you want to share your location from along with deciding whether
to allow friend requests or location updates.
On the Me tab, you can also reclaim your privacy with the Share My Location switch. Turn this off to temporarily hide your location from anyone you previously
shared it with. This is a great way to remember if you’re on your way to a surprise party or a secret vacation!
Change Your Location to a Different Device
If you have several Apple devices, you can use the Me tab to choose from where to share your location. You can only change your location from
the device you’re currently using, so be sure to launch the Find My app from that specific device, then tap Use This [Device] as My Location.
Help a Friend Find Their Device
If you look at the very bottom of the Me tab, you’ll see a small button that says, Help a Friend. Use this if a friend or family member has lost their Apple device. When you tap
it, a page on the iCloud website will load for your friend to sign in to. On this page, your friend can play sounds, mark their device as lost, or erase it remotely.
