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Quick guide to the Find My app on iPhone and iPad
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This article was reviewed by Stan Kats and by wikiHow staff writer, Kyle Smith. Stan Kats is a Professional Technologist and the COO and Chief Technologist for The STG IT Consulting Group in West Hollywood, California. Stan provides comprehensive technology solutions to businesses through managed IT services, and for individuals through his consumer service business, Stan's Tech Garage. Stan holds a BA in International Relations from The University of Southern California. He began his career working in the Fortune 500 IT world. Stan founded his companies to offer an enterprise-level of expertise for small businesses and individuals.
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Wondering what "live" means when you view someone in the Find My app on your iPhone or iPad? This indicates that you're viewing someone's location in real time. It's a great feature for seeing where someone is and where they're going. Note that the Find My app was previously known as Find My Friends. This wikiHow guide will discuss what live means in Find My, how to share your location, and how to view your friends' locations.
Things You Should Know
- Live means you're seeing someone's location in real time, rather than their last-known location.
- Turn on Location Services and Find My in the Settings app to share your location with others.
- Tap the + button in the People tab of the Find My app to share your location with someone.
Steps
Turning on Location Services
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![Step 1 Open the settings app.]()
Open the settings app. It's the gray gear icon on one of your home screen pages. You'll need to turn on location services in the settings app to share your location with other people.[1] -
![Step 2 Tap Privacy & Security.]()
Tap Privacy & Security.[2] -
![Step 3 Tap Location Services.]()
Tap Location Services.[3] -
![Step 4 Toggle on Location Services.]()
Toggle on Location Services. This will allow you to share your location with other people.[4]
Turning on Find My
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![Step 1 Open the settings app.]()
Open the settings app. It's the gray gear icon on one of your home screen pages. You can turn on Find My in the settings app.[5] -
![Step 2 Tap your name.]()
Tap your name. It's at the top of the settings app. -
![Step 3 Tap Find My.]()
Tap Find My.[6] -
![Step 4 Tap Find My iPhone.]()
Tap Find My iPhone. -
![Step 5 Toggle on Find My iPhone.]()
Toggle on Find My iPhone. This allows you and other people you share your location with to find your iPhone.
Sharing Your Location
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![Step 1 Open the settings app.]()
Open the settings app. It's the gray gear icon on one of your home screen pages.- If you're trying to share your iPhone's location with someone who has an Android, you'll need to use Google Maps location sharing instead of Find My.
-
![Step 2 Tap your name.]()
Tap your name. It's at the top of the settings app. -
![Step 3 Tap Find My.]()
Tap Find My.[7] -
![Step 4 Toggle on Share My Location.]()
Toggle on Share My Location. This allows you to share your iPhone's location with other people. -
![Step 5 Open the Find My app.]()
Open the Find My app. It's a green radar icon on one of your home screen pages.[8] -
![Step 6 Tap the People tab.]()
Tap the People tab. It has an icon with two people. -
![Step 7 Tap the + button and select Share my Location.]()
Tap the + button and select Share my Location. This will open a new menu for selecting who you want to share your location with.[9] -
![Step 8 Type the name of the person you want to share your location with and select them in the list.]()
Type the name of the person you want to share your location with and select them in the list. You can select multiple people if needed.[10] -
![Step 9 Tap Send.]()
Tap Send.[11] -
![Step 10 Select how long you want to share your location.]()
Select how long you want to share your location. Once you choose, your location will immediately be shared with the people you selected. You can always stop sharing your location later if needed. You can choose from these options:- Share for One Hour
- Share Until End of Day
- Share Indefinitely.
Requesting Someone's Location
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![Step 1 Open the Find My app.]()
Open the Find My app. It's a green radar icon on one of your home screen pages.- Note that you need to share your location with someone first before you can request that they share their location with you.
-
![Step 2 Tap the People tab.]()
Tap the People tab. It has an icon with two people. -
![Step 3 Tap the person you want to share their location with you.]()
Tap the person you want to share their location with you. -
![Step 4 Tap Ask To Follow Location.]()
Tap Ask To Follow Location. This will send the person a message requesting that they share their location with you.[12]
Finding Someone's Location
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Expert Q&A
Tips
References
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102647
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102647
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102647
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102647
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102648
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/102648
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/105122
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/105122
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/105122
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/105122
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/en-us/105122
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/add-or-remove-a-friend-ipha5f04100d/17.0/ios/17.0
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/locate-a-friend-ipha24eb4a37/ios
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/locate-a-friend-ipha24eb4a37/ios
- ↑ https://support.apple.com/guide/iphone/locate-a-friend-ipha24eb4a37/ios
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