Everything you need to know about Find My app in iOS 13

What do you get when combining Find My iPhone with Find My Friends? According to Apple, you will have a useful feature, an application with a strange name: Find My in iOS 13 . It provides a simple interface, allowing you to locate friends, family members and Apple devices.

The Find My app divides this information into 3 tabs with options to play sounds from a lost device, download directions in the Maps app, or set a notification when a spouse is dismissed. Do all this in a single application.

Join us to learn more about how to use the Find My app on iPhones running iOS 13.

How to find Apple devices

Tap the Devices tab under the Find My app to view a map of your compatible Apple devices. Find My places a pin on the map at the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch or AirPod location associated with your Apple ID. It even shows the devices of family members.

Swipe from the bottom of the screen to see more devices with precise location & distance from your location. If Find My is unable to locate a device, it instead displays an icon with a black screen with the nearest known location.

Get more detailed information about each device

Tap on certain devices to see your current address and battery level, along with a controller to help you find it again. If you think you're within earshot, tap Play Sound to let the device ring. Conversely, press Directions to open the way to the device in the Maps app.

Get notified about lost devices

One of the best advances in iOS 13 is the location feature of Apple devices, even when they're not connected to the Internet. Apple provides this feature by creating an anonymous and encrypted Bluetooth network that links nearby Apple devices together.

However, there's still no way to help Find My locate your device if it's not connected to the Internet and has Bluetooth turned on or might be off. In this case, turn on Notify When Found to receive a notification of its location as soon as Find My detects the signal.

Protect device with Mark as Lost

If one of your Apple devices is stolen or lost, turn on Mark As Lost to protect the data and make it easier for scavengers to return it to you. You can also enter your phone number with a personal message asking anyone who finds it to call you.

When Mark As Lost is activated, Find My disables sensitive services like Apple Pay on the device and locks it with a password. You can use this opportunity to create a passcode if you don't already have one.

Only erase the device if there is no other way

Under these other options, you also have an Erase This Device button . You should only select it as a last resort when you've completely hopelessly regained the device because after deleting, you can not track its location anymore.

However, erased devices are still protected by Apple's Lock Activation. It has the ability to prevent others from using it as their property. If you have Mark As Lost turned on, it will still show a personalized message so that the person who scooped knows how to contact you.

How to find friends and family

Tap the People tab in the lower left corner of Find My in iOS 13 to see a location map of all the people who are tracking your location or share their location with you.

Similar to the Devices tab, you can then touch each person to get more information about where they are. This action gives you the option to view their details in the Contacts app or to their route in Maps.

Start sharing location

If you haven't shared your location with anyone yet, touch the Start Sharing Location button . Conversely, swipe up to see the entire list of people you are following and touch Share My Location below.

Find the contact you want to share the location with by searching their Apple ID name, phone number or email address in the corresponding bar. When you touch Send , you can choose the time you want to share your location:

• Share for One Hour - Share in an hour
• Share Until End of Day - Share to the end of the day
• Share Indefinitely - Share indefinitely

Request to track other people's locations

You cannot track other people's location with Find My unless they choose to share it with you. The easiest way to encourage them to do this is to share your location first. A message will then prompt the contact to share the location again.

On the other hand, you can directly send a request to track anyone who is following you. Tap on their name from the People tab and use the Ask to Follow Location option . When they agree, you will receive a notification from Find My, indicating that they have accepted your friend request.

Set notifications when someone changes location

You can choose to send or receive notifications in the Find My app whenever you or someone in your contacts change location. This is useful if you want to let your significant other know you are on your way home or determine when you will arrive at the meeting place.

From the People tab in Find My, tap the name of the person who wants to set up notifications. Tap Add in Notifications and choose whether you want to send or receive notifications, then set the location you plan to leave or go to. You can set the position radius to any point from 300 feet to 150 miles.

If you choose to send the notification to someone, an option at the bottom of the screen lets you repeat the notification. As a result, you can notify your spouse that you are on your way home every time you leave the workplace without doing anything.

How to change Find My settings

At the bottom right of the Find My app is the Me tab. Use it to choose the device you want to share your location with and decide whether to allow friend requests or location updates.

Tab Me also allows you to regain your privacy by switching the Share My Location option . Turning off this feature will temporarily hide your location from people you have previously shared. This option is extremely useful when you are on the way to a surprise party or some secret place.

Change location to another device

If you have multiple Apple devices, you can use the Me tab to select devices that want to share location. You can only change the location to the device currently in use to make sure Find My app opens from a specific device, then tap Use This [Device] as My Location .

Help your friends find the device

At the bottom of the Me tab is a small button that says Help a Friend . Use it if your friend or family member loses your Apple device. When touching it, a page on the iCloud web will open for your friend to log in. This page allows them to activate playing a sound, marking a lost device or deleting it remotely.

Now you know how to track a lost Apple device, get directions to friends / family, or set up notifications to let people know your location. Hope the article helps you use Find My in iOS 13 more effectively.