- Find my friends apple app how to#
- Find my friends apple app update#
- Find my friends apple app software#
Here, a map with icons representing each of the people who have chosen to share their location with you will appear, along with a list of their names, distance from you, and how long ago they were at the displayed location. If you click on the far left ‘People’ tab, you’ll find a tool that is almost identical to what used to be ‘Find my Friends’. For further peace of mind, there is also the option to disable ‘offline finding’ in the settings app. Apple has ensured that not even they themselves are able to intercept and leverage the geolocation data. To decrypt this data, you’ll need a device logged in to your Apple ID and protected with two-factor authentication. Offline tracking requires at least two Apple devices, each emitting a constantly changing public key that nearby devices pick up, encrypt, and then upload.
Find my friends apple app update#
This does require that the device is switched on with Bluetooth enabled, but essentially, this update means your devices are more traceable than ever.Īt the time of launch this caused concerns around potential breaches of privacy, which Apple responded to by ensuring the feature has a secure encryption system that prevents people from abusing it by, say, tracking your location without consent. Apple has designed an innovative system that instead leverages Bluetooth and allows nearby Apple devices to talk to your lost device and send back details of its location. One major update that iOS 13 brought to ‘Find My’ was the ability to locate devices even when they aren’t connected to WiFi or an LTE network. This makes the device unable to activate without the correct Apple ID and password, meaning it is far more difficult for a thief to use or sell. If this doesn’t work, or you are convinced that your phone, tablet or laptop has fallen into the wrong hands, Apple will allow you to erase the device completely and destroy any data it stores by implementing the ‘Activation Lock’. Marking your device as lost sets in motion comprehensive safety measures – the device will completely lock, Apple Pay will be disabled, and you’ll be given the option to display contact information on the screen to help anyone who finds your device to return it safely back to you. These include getting directions to the device, playing a sound to help locate the device in close proximity, marking the device as lost, and, in more extreme cases, completely erasing the device and restoring it back to factory settings. Tapping on a device icon you have lost will give you multiple handy options to help you locate it. Immediately on entering the Find My app you’ll see three tabs, ‘People’ on the left, ‘Devices’ in the middle, and ‘Me’ on the right.Ĭlicking on the ‘Devices’ tab in the middle will make your Apple gadgets appear on a map with icons representing each one. As long as you’re signed on to iCloud and have the Find My feature enabled, you will be able to locate any lost devices through the app. Almost all Apple products are compatible, including Macs, iPhones, AirPods, Apple Watches and iPads.
Find my friends apple app how to#
Most of the functionality of the app has remained the same, except for the fact that functionality is now all in a single application and can be found at the press of a single button.īelow we discuss how Find My iPhone and Find My Friends can be useful, as well as how to navigate the latest changes within the new ‘Find My’ app.įind My iPhone is a feature that allows users to find an Apple device, simply by signing in to iCloud.
Find my friends apple app software#
However, the launch of iOS 13 brought with it many new software updates across the entire range of compatible Apple devices, one of them being that Find My iPhone and Find My Friends were merged into one app, now named ‘Find My’. How to use ‘Find My iPhone’ and ‘Find My Friends’įind My iPhone and Find My Friends have been a part of the Apple ‘own-brand’ app portfolio since 20 respectively, and have, up until September 2019, existed separately as individual apps.