How often do you use your iPhone’s Find My app? Probably pretty rarely. It’s meant to help find your misplaced Apple devices — maybe you left your MacBook at the office or your AirPods got lost in your backpack — but I’m guessing those instances are few and far between. At least, I hope they are.
Well, what if I were to tell you that I check the Find My app every day? In fact, it’s become one of my most used apps. But before you start thinking my life is in shambles and I just can’t keep track of my shit, know that the opposite is actually true. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I misplaced my iPhone or AirPods.
Let me explain.
Read More
Last year, I went to my buddy’s wedding in Columbia and stayed in an Airbnb with a bunch of my friends. Being in a different country where none of us spoke the language, we decided to share our locations in the Find My app — or, more specifically, the locations of each of our iPhones — to better keep track of each other. It was then, however, that I found out that several of my friends had been doing this already for years. I was late to the party.
You see, we had all gone to high school together, but, being in our early 30s, life had spread us out. Some of us hadn’t seen each other in years. But we’d all always stayed in touch — mostly through unwieldy group chats and Instagram messages — and location sharing just adds another element of, well, trust, bond and friendship.
In the months that followed, we continued to share our locations with each other. It’s allowed us to check in with each other without actually having to check in, which has been quite refreshing. There’s an element of banter to location sharing amongst friends, of course, that when done in a non-creepy way can be a lot of fun.
It’s been pretty useful, too. Without having to ask for a PIN of their location, I’ve been able to find my friend outside the stadium before a hockey game (Go Devils!) or track them home on the ferry so that I could pick them up right on time.
I use the Find My app as a way of staying connected with my parents, brother and cousins, as well. My mom frequently drops her dog off for me to watch during the day, and I’ll check in with the app to see how close (or far) she is from picking the dog back up. I can see when my brother (whom I live with) is coming home and asking him to pick up food. And I share my location with a few of my cousins because, well, just to stay in touch.
Of course, sharing your location with others requires a good deal of trust, so don’t do it with just anyone. There are some built in security measures within the Find My app, allowing you to stop sharing your location with specific people at any time. And you can set time parameters for sharing, such as sharing for only an hour or until the end of day.
Now, sharing your location with others isn’t anything new — you’ve been able to track the location of your friends, devices and items (specifically AirTags) within the Find My app for years — but it’s relatively new for my routine. When I wake up, the Find My app is one of the first apps I check in the morning. I’m at an age where I don’t see my friends and family as often as I used to so being able to quickly (and passively) check in with people — and vice versa, them with me — is quite nice.
How to share your location with friends and family
- Open the Find My app
- Select the People tab.
- Tap the Add (+) button.
- Select Share My Location.
- Enter the name or phone number of the person that you want to share your location with.
- Select Send.
After you send, you have the option of sharing your location indefinitely, which is what I mostly do with my friends, or just share your location for an hour or until the end of the day. The person who you share your location with will then have the option to share their location back. They (and you) can revoke location sharing at any time through the Find My app.
