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The Complete Guide to Every iOS 27 Feature

How to share locations with family members and locate their lost devices on iPad

by Dave Johnson

With Family Sharing, you can share your location with members of your Family Sharing group and help them find lost devices.

When the family organizer sets up location sharing, the organizer’s location is automatically shared with everyone in the family, including new members added later. Each family member decides whether to share their location, and you can stop sharing with anyone at any time. You can even get notified if a child leaves school during school hours. You can also ask a family member to share an AirTag with you.

Share your location with family members

When you share locations with your family, they’re able to see your location in Find My. If a child leaves school during school hours, for example, you can get notifications when family members’ locations change.

  1. Open Settings, tap Family, and then tap Location Sharing.
  2. Turn on Location Sharing for the family member you want to share your location with.

    You can repeat this step for each family member you want to share your location with. Each family member receives a message that you’re sharing your location and can choose to share their location with you.

    You can stop sharing your location with any family member at any time.

  3. If you want to share your location with new members that join later, turn on Automatically Share Location.

    When Automatically Share Location is turned on for a child, only parents and guardians in the family group can see the child’s location, including parents and guardians that are added to the group later.

Note: Children and teens with Screen Time turned on may not be able to change their own location sharing settings.

To share your location, you must have Location Services turned on in Settings > Privacy & Security. See Control the location information you share.

Locate a family member’s device

Members of your Family Sharing group can help locate a missing device added to the Find My app after you share your location with them.

For the steps, see our article, Locate a device in Find My.

The list puts your devices at the top and your family members’ devices below them.

Ask a family member to share an AirTag with you

When the Find My app notifies you with AirTag Detected Near You or Unknown AirTag, the family member who owns the AirTag can share it with you if you ask.

  1. In the notification, tap Ask Owner to Share AirTag.
  2. Tap Ask Owner at the bottom of the screen.

Find Devices on iCloud.com can also locate a family member’s missing device.

See also

Tags: Family sharing, Find My
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How to share your location in Find My on iPad

by Stacey Butler

Before you can use the Find My app to share your location with friends, you need to set up location sharing.

Once it’s set up, the device sharing your location appears next to Sharing From. You can share from another device instead, and set a label for your location, like Home or Work, to make it more meaningful. You’ll see that label next to your location, too.

Here’s how to share your location in Find My on iPad.

Note: If you set up location sharing and others still can’t see your location, make sure Location Services is on in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Find My. Location sharing isn’t available in all locations. See Control the location information you share.

Besides yourself, up to five users can share an AirTag or other item, for a total of six users per item.

Set up location sharing

  1. Start the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Me at the bottom-left side of the screen and turn on Share My Location.

    The device sharing your location appears next to Sharing From.

  3. If your iPad isn’t currently sharing your location, you can tap Use This iPad as My Location.

Note: To share your location from a different device, open Find My there and change your location to that device.

You can also change your location sharing settings in Settings > [your name] > Find My.

Set a label for your location

You can set a label for your current location to make it more meaningful (like Home or Work). When you tap Me, you see the label in addition to your location.

  1. Start the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Me at the bottom-left side of the screen. Tap Location Label.
  3. Select a label.

    To add a new label, tap Add Custom Label, enter a name, then tap the Done button.

Share your location with a friend

  1. Start the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen, tap the Add button, and then choose Share My Location.
  3. In the With field, enter the name of a friend you want to share your location with (or tap the Add Contact button, then select a contact).
  4. Tap the Done button. Then choose how long you want to share your location.

    Tip: Set a duration or an end time for your location sharing by choosing Custom and adjusting the fields.

You can also notify a friend or family member when your location changes.

If you’re in a Family Sharing group, see our article, Share your location with family members.

Stop or pause sharing your location

Pause or stop sharing your location with a specific friend, or hide it from everyone.

  • Stop sharing with a friend: Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen, then tap the name of the person you don’t want to share your location with. Tap the More button, then tap Stop Sharing My Location.
  • Pause sharing with a friend: Tap People at the bottom of the screen, then tap the name of the person you want to pause sharing your location with. Tap the More button, then tap Hide Location.
  • Hide your location from everyone: Tap Me at the bottom-left side of the screen, then turn off Share My Location.

Respond to a location sharing request

  1. Start the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen.
  3. Tap Share below the name of the friend who sent the request and choose how long you want to share your location.

    If you don’t want to share your location, tap Cancel.

Stop receiving new location sharing requests

  1. Start the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Me at the bottom of the screen and then turn off Allow Friend Requests.

See also

Tag: Find My
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How to add or remove a friend in Find My on iPad

by Stacey Butler

In the Find My app, once you share your location with a friend, you can ask to see their location on a map. After your friend accepts your request, you can see where they are. When you remove a friend, they come off your People list, and you come off theirs.

Ask to see a friend’s location

  1. Open the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen. Tap the name of the person whose location you want to see.

    If you don’t see a person in the list, make sure you’re sharing your location with them.

  3. Tap Ask To Follow Location.

As soon as your friend receives and accepts your request, their location appears for you. Check out our guide, Respond to a location sharing request.

Note: If your friend shows up in the People list but their location doesn’t appear on the map, ask them to confirm they’re sharing their location and that Location Services is turned on in Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services > Find My.

Remove a friend

If you remove a friend, they disappear from your People list, and you disappear from theirs.

  1. Open the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen and tap the name of the person you want to remove. Then tap the More button.
  3. Tap Remove.

See also

Tag: Find My
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How to locate a friend in Find My on iPad

by Kevin Hollington

When a friend shares their location with you, you can use the Find My app to locate them on a map.

When your friend can’t be located, “No location found” appears below their name, and if you aren’t following them, you see “Can see your location” instead. You can also contact a friend, get directions to them, and set a label for a location.

Here’s how to locate a friend in Find My on iPad.

The Find My screen open to the People list. There are four people in the list: Ashley Rico, Olivia Rico, Dawn Ramirez, and Will Rico. Their locations are shown on a map of San Francisco.

Note: Turn on Precise Location for the Find My app if you’d like to see how far away your friends are from you. See our article, Control the location information you share.

See the location of a friend

  1. Start the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen. Then tap the name of the person you want to locate.
    • If your friend can be located: They appear on a map so you can see where they are.
    • If your friend can’t be located: You see No location found below their name.
    • If you aren’t following your friend: You see Can see your location below their name. You can ask to see a friend’s location.

Contact a friend

  1. Start the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen. Then tap the name of the person you want to contact.
  3. Tap Contact and choose how you want to contact your friend. See Add and use contact information.

Get directions to a friend

To get directions to a friend’s current location, use the Maps app.

  1. Start the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen. Tap the name of the person you want to get directions to.
  3. Tap Directions to open Maps.

For help getting there, check out our guide, Get directions in Maps.

Set a label for a friend’s location

Setting a label like Home or Work for a friend’s current location makes it more meaningful, and whenever they’re at that location, the label shows up below your friend’s name.

  1. Start the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen and tap the name of the person you want to set a location label for. Then tap the more button.
  3. Tap Edit Location Name and select a label.

    To add a new label, tap Add Custom Label, enter a name, then tap the Done button.

Mark a friend as a favorite

A star marks your favorite friends. They appear at the top of the People list.

  1. Start the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen. Find the person you want to mark as a favorite.
  3. Do one of the following:
    • Tap the name of the person, tap the more button, then tap Add to Favorites.
    • Swipe left across the person’s name, then tap the star.

To remove a friend from your Favorites, swipe left and tap the star, or tap the friend, tap the more button, then tap Remove from Favorites.

See also

Tag: Find My
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How to get started with Find My on iPad

by Tyler Stephen

Use the Find My app on your iPad to locate lost devices, find everyday items using AirTags, and keep track of family and friends. Before you can find a missing device, though, you need to add it to Find My, and you can slip an AirTag into a gym bag or luggage.

A Find My screen showing an iPad.

Add your iPad to Find My

Before you can use the Find My app to find a missing device, you need to add the device to Find My. Go to the Settings app, tap your name, tap Find My iPad, then turn on Find My iPad. Add your other devices to Find My in the same way so you can see all of them in one place.

A Find My screen showing multiple devices sharing their location.

Find a missing Apple device

Go to the Find My app, tap Devices, then select the device you’re looking for. As long as it’s been added to Find My, you see it on a map, and you can play a sound on it to help narrow down your search.

A Find My screen show an AirTags sharing their location.

Add an AirTag

You can add an AirTag to Find My, then slip it in a gym bag, backpack, or luggage in case those items go missing. Go to the Find My app, tap Items, tap the Add button, then follow the onscreen instructions. After you add an AirTag (and other compatible accessories) to Find My, they appear in the Items list, with their location visible.

A Find My screen showing a friend’s location

Find friends

When you and your friends share your locations with each other, you can see each other in Find My. First, go to the Find My app, then tap People. Tap the Add button, tap Share My Location, then choose a contact. The People list shows friends who have shared their location with you.

To keep track of more of your stuff with Find My, take a look at these guides:

Tag: Find My
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How to notify a friend when your location changes in Find My on iPad

by Abigail Shilets

Use the Find My app to let a friend know when your location changes. You can notify your friend when you arrive at or leave a location, and with a larger radius, they get notified when you’re near the location rather than right at it.

You can see a list of the people notified when your location changes, and stop notifying friends at any time. You can also see all the notifications about you.

Here’s how to notify a friend when your location changes in Find My on iPad.

You can also get a notification when your friend’s location changes. See Get notified when a friend’s location changes in Find My on iPad.

Notify a friend when your location changes

  1. Open the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen and then tap the name of the person you want to notify.
  3. Below Notify [your friend’s name], tap Add Location Alert.
  4. Choose whether you want to notify your friend when you arrive at or leave a location.
  5. Choose a location, or tap New Location to create a new location and set a location radius.

    With a larger radius, your friend is notified when you’re near the location instead of right at the location.

  6. Choose whether you want your friend to be notified only once or every time.
  7. Tap the Done button.

At any time, you can stop notifying friends when your location changes. Check out our guide, Change or turn off a notification you set.

See all notifications about you

  1. Open the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Me at the bottom-left side of the screen.

    A list of people who are notified when your location changes appears below Alerts on My Location.

    Note: If you don’t see the Alerts on My Location section, you aren’t notifying any friends when your location changes.

  3. Tap a name to see more details.

Turn off notifications about you

You can turn off any location notification about you, both the notifications you set and the notifications your friends create.

  1. Open the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Me at the bottom-left side of the screen.

    Below Notifications About You, you see a list of people who are notified when your location changes.

    If you don’t see the Notifications About You section, you aren’t notifying any friends when your location changes.

  3. Select a name and tap a notification.
  4. Tap Delete Notification and tap Delete Notification again.

See also

Tag: Find My
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How to get notified when a friend’s location changes in Find My on iPad

by Chris Smith

Use the Find My app to get a notification when your friend’s location changes. You can get notified when a friend arrives at a location, leaves a location, or isn’t at a location, and with a larger radius, you’re notified when they’re near it.

Your friend gets an alert after you set the notification up.

Here’s how to get notified when a friend’s location changes in Find My on iPad.

Important: In order to receive a notification when your friend’s location changes, make sure you allow notifications for the Find My app. See Change notification settings.

You can also notify friends when your location changes. For the steps, see our guide, Notify a friend when your location changes in Find My.

Get notified when your friend arrives at or leaves a location

  1. Start the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen, tap the name of the person you want to be notified about, and tap the more button.
  3. Below Notify Me, tap Add Location Alert.
  4. Choose whether you want to be notified when a friend arrives at or leaves a location.
  5. Choose a location, or tap New Location to create a new location and set a location radius.

    With a larger radius, you’re notified when your friend is near the location instead of right at the location.

  6. Choose whether you want to be notified only once or every time.
  7. Tap the Done button.

    Your friend gets an alert after you set the notification.

    If you set a recurring notification, your friend must approve it before it’s set. They get an alert asking for approval when they arrive at or leave the location you chose for the first time.

Get notified when your friend isn’t at a location

You can get a notification when your friend or family member is away from a specific location during a set schedule, like when your child isn’t at school during school hours.

  1. Start the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen, tap the name of the person you want to be notified about, and tap the more button.
  3. Below Notify Me, tap Add Location Alert.
  4. Below When, tap [your friend’s name] Is Not At.
  5. Choose a location, or tap New Location to create a new location and set a location radius.

    With a larger radius, you’re notified when your friend is near the location instead of right at the location.

  6. Select when you want to be notified.

    • Time: Select a start and end time.
    • Days: Select the days of the week.
  7. Tap the Done button.

    Your friend must approve the notification before it’s set. They get an alert asking for approval on the time and day the notifications start.

Change or turn off a notification you set

  1. Start the Find My app on your iPad.
  2. Tap People at the bottom-left side of the screen, tap the name of the person whose notification you want to change or turn off, and then tap the more button.

    This could be a notification you receive about a friend, or a notification your friend receives about you.

  3. Tap the notification.
  4. Do either of the following:

    • Change a notification: Change any details and then tap the Done button.
    • Turn off a notification: Tap Delete Notification and tap Delete Notification again.

You can create up to 25 Notify Me notifications.

Note: You can only create recurring notifications for friends who have two-factor authentication turned on.

See also

Tag: Find My
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How to share passwords and passkeys with people you trust on iPad

by Abigail Shilets

Shared password groups are an easy and secure way to share passwords and passkeys with your family and trusted contacts.

Anyone in the group can add passwords and passkeys, and when a shared password changes, it changes on everyone’s device. To create a group, you need to be signed in to your Apple Account, and the people you add must be in your contacts with an iPhone, iPad, or Mac running iOS 17, iPadOS 17, or later.

Create a group

Note: You must be signed in to your Apple Account before you can create a shared password group.

  1. Go to the Passwords app on your iPad.
  2. Tap the New Shared Group button.
  3. Enter a name for the group, then tap Add People.
  4. Type the name, email address, or phone number of the person you want to add. Tap Add.

    Note: To add someone to your group, they must be in your contacts and have an iPhone, iPad, or Mac with iOS 17, iPadOS 17, macOS 14, or later. If they can be added to the group, their contact information appears in blue. If it appears in gray, their iPad, iPhone, or Mac might not support shared password groups.

  5. Tap the Create button.
  6. Select the passwords you want to share with the group and tap Move in the top-right corner.

    If you don’t want to share any passwords yet, tap Not Now in the top-left corner.

    You can notify the people you’ve invited to the group, and they can also see the invitation in Passwords > Group Invitations.

Shared passwords go into iCloud Keychain, where you can use them like any other saved password.

Whenever anyone else is invited to the group, you get a notification.

Manage a group

Whoever creates a group can add or remove other members or delete the group. The rest of the members can’t. They can still choose to leave at any time.

  1. Start the Passwords app on your iPad.
  2. Tap the name of your group.
  3. Do any of the following:
    • Add a member to the group: Tap your name and then tap Add People.
    • Remove a member from the group: Tap the member’s name, then tap Remove From Group.
    • Remove a shared password or passkey from the group: Tap Select and select the shared account with the shared password or passkey. Then tap the Delete button.
    • Delete the group: Tap your name and tap Delete Group.
  4. When you’re finished making changes, tap the Done button.

Respond to an invitation to join a group

  1. Start the Passwords app on your iPad.
  2. Tap the invitation and then tap Accept to join the group. You can also decline the invitation.

Important: Don’t accept an invitation if you don’t recognize the sender.

See also

Tag: Passwords
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How to use passkeys to sign in to websites and apps on iPad

by Emily Long

You can create and save passkeys to replace the passwords you use to sign in to supported websites and apps on your iPad. Passkeys are more secure than passwords, because they’re uniquely generated for every account by your own device and are less vulnerable to phishing, and they also work on all your devices where you’re signed in to the same Apple Account.

Websites and apps can also create passkeys for your account automatically, so you can use them the next time you sign in. Like passwords, passkeys are encrypted and stored in your iCloud Keychain, where they aren’t visible to anyone, including Apple.

Note: You need iCloud Keychain and two-factor authentication turned on to use passkeys.

Create and save a passkey using your iPad

Websites and apps that support passkeys let you create and save them.

Note: Steps for creating and saving a passkey can differ depending on the app, website, or browser, though they’re usually similar to the ones below.

  1. Go to the sign-in screen for a supported website or app on your iPad, and do one of the following:

    • If you’re setting up a new account: Tap the button or link for setting up new accounts, then follow the onscreen instructions.
    • If you already have an existing account: Sign in with your account name and password and then go to the account settings or management screen.
  2. When you see the option to save a passkey for the account, tap Continue.

    Your passkey is saved.

    Note: If you don’t see a passkey option, it means the website or app doesn’t currently support passkeys.

Your iPad stores the passkeys you create in the Passwords app.

A website or app can have both a passkey and a password, and you’ll find them together under the same account in the Passwords app.

You can also save a passkey to a hardware security key. Tap “Other options,” “Save on another device,” or similar (if available), then follow the onscreen instructions for saving a passkey. See Use security keys to sign in to your Apple Account.

Use a passkey to sign in to a website or app on your iPad

You can use a passkey whenever you sign in, after you create and save it for a website or app.

Note: The steps for signing in with a passkey depend on the app, website, or browser, but they’re typically similar to the ones below.

  1. Go to a website or app on your iPad, and tap the account name field on the sign-in screen.
  2. Tap the suggested account name that appears at the bottom of the screen or near the top of the keyboard. If the account name doesn’t appear, or you want to use a different one, enter it.
  3. Use Face ID or Touch ID to complete sign in. If you didn’t set up Face ID or Touch ID on your iPad, enter your device passcode (the code you use to unlock your iPad).

    The passkey you saved completes the sign-in automatically.

Use a passkey saved on your iPad to sign in on another device

With your iPad on hand, you can use the passkeys you created to sign in to websites or apps on a device not associated with your Apple Account, like a computer at a friend’s house, an internet cafe, or a public library.

Note: Using a passkey on another device can involve different instructions depending on the app, website, or browser, but you’ll usually follow steps like the ones below.

  1. On the other device, go to the website or app and enter your user name in the account name field on the sign-in screen.
  2. Select “Other options,” “Passkey from nearby device,” or similar and then follow the onscreen instructions to display a QR code on the screen.
  3. Use your iPad camera to scan the QR code.

    The passkey that’s saved to iCloud Keychain completes the sign-in automatically.

Create a passkey on a device that’s not your own

Having your iPad with you also means you can create a passkey on a device that isn’t associated with your Apple Account, such as a computer at an internet cafe, a public library, or a friend’s house, and save it to iCloud Keychain rather than to that device.

Note: Instructions for creating a passkey vary by app, website, or browser, though the steps below are typical.

  1. On the other device, go to the sign-in page for a supported website or app. Do one of the following:

    • If you’re setting up a new account: Tap the button or link for setting up new accounts. Enter a new username.
    • If you already have an account: Sign in with your account name and password and then go to the account settings or management screen.
  2. When you see the option to save a passkey for the account, select “Other options,” “Save on another device,” or similar (instead of Continue).

    Note: If you don’t see a passkey option, it means the website or app doesn’t currently support passkeys.

  3. Select Save a passkey on a device with a camera, or similar and then follow the onscreen instructions to display a QR code on the screen.
  4. Use your iPad camera to scan the QR code with your camera.

    The passkey is saved to your iPad and iCloud Keychain.

Change a passkey

If you previously shared a passkey with someone you no longer want to give access to, for example, creating a new passkey to replace the existing one may be necessary.

To change a passkey, follow the steps for an existing account in Create and save a passkey or Create a passkey on a device that’s not your own.

Delete a passkey

  1. Open the Passwords app on your iPad.
  2. Tap Passkeys and then tap the account for the passkey you want to delete.
  3. Tap Edit.
  4. Tap Delete and tap Delete Passkey to confirm.

If you delete a passkey, you can create a new one at any time.

See also

Tag: Passwords
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How to set up Face ID on iPad

by Emily Long

Use Face ID (on supported models) to securely and conveniently unlock iPad, authorize purchases and payments, and sign in to many third-party apps by simply glancing at your iPad.

Face ID data is encrypted, isn’t saved to iCloud, and doesn’t leave your iPad. You can add an alternate appearance, choose when to use Face ID, and temporarily disable it. You’ll need a passcode set on your iPad to use it.

To use Face ID, you must also set a passcode on your iPad.

Set up Face ID or add an alternate appearance

  • If you didn’t set up Face ID when you first set up your iPad, go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Set up Face ID, then follow the onscreen instructions.
  • To set up an additional appearance for Face ID to recognize, go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode > Set Up an Alternate Appearance, then follow the onscreen instructions.

    The Face ID recognition setup screen. A smiley face is showing on the screen, enclosed in a circle. Text below instructs the user to move their head slowly to complete the circle. A button for Get Started appears near the bottom of the screen.

Choose when to use Face ID

Use Face ID to unlock your iPad, automatically fill in passwords, authorize payments, and open password-protected apps.

Go to Settings > Face ID & Passcode, then turn on options below Use Face ID For.

Temporarily disable Face ID

You can temporarily keep Face ID from unlocking your iPad.

  1. Press and hold the top button and either volume button for 2 seconds.
  2. After the slider appears, tap Cancel to immediately lock iPad.

    iPad locks automatically if you don’t touch the screen for a minute or so.

After you next unlock iPad with your passcode, Face ID is back on.

Turn off Face ID

  1. Open Settings and then tap Face ID & Passcode.
  2. Do one of the following:
    • Turn off Face ID for specific items only: Turn off one or more of the options, such as Password AutoFill.
    • Turn off Face ID: Tap Reset Face ID.

If your device is lost or stolen, you can prevent Face ID from being used to unlock your device. See Mark a device as lost in Find My.

See also

Tag: face id
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