Photo by Tucker Bowe
It is designed and mainly used to track your Apple devices. I use it a little differently.
How often do you use the Find My app on your iPhone? Probably quite rare. It’s meant to help you find lost Apple devices — maybe you left your MacBook at the office or lost your AirPods in your backpack — but I’m guessing those cases are rare. At least I hope they are.
Well, what if I told you that I check the Find My app every day? In fact, it has become one of my most used apps. But before you start thinking that my life is a mess and that I just can’t keep up with my own shit, know that it’s actually the opposite. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I lost my iPhone or AirPods.
Let me explain.
Last year I went to my friend’s wedding in Columbia and stayed in an Airbnb with a bunch of my friends. Since we were in a different country where neither of us spoke the language, we decided to share our locations on the Find My app — or, more accurately, the locations of each of our iPhones — to better track each other. Then, however, I found out that several of my friends have been doing this for years. I’m late to the party.
You see, we all went to high school together, but since we were in our early 30s, life spread us apart. Some of us haven’t seen each other in years. But we’ve all always kept in touch – mostly through awkward group chats and Instagram messages – and sharing a location just adds another element of trust, connection and friendship.
In the months that followed, we continued to share our locations with each other. We were allowed to check in with each other without actually having to check in, which was quite a refresher. Of course, there’s an element of banter in sharing a location between friends, which can be a lot of fun when done in a non-creepy way.
It was also quite useful. Without having to look up a PIN for their location, I was able to find my friend outside the stadium before a hockey game (Go devils!) or escort them home on the ferry so I can pick them up on time.
I also use the Find My application as a way to stay connected with my parents, brother and relatives. My mom often leaves her dog for me to babysit during the day, and I’ll check with the app how close (or far) she is to pick the dog up again. I see when my brother (who I live with) comes home and asks him to pick up food. And I’m sharing my location with a few of my relatives because, well, just to keep in touch.
Of course, sharing your location with others requires a lot of trust, so don’t do it with just anyone. There are some built-in security measures within the Find My app, which allow you to stop sharing your location with certain people at any time. And you can set time parameters for sharing, such as sharing for just an hour or for the rest of the day.
Now, sharing your location with others is nothing new — you’ve been able to track the location of your friends, devices, and items (especially AirTags) within the Find My app for years — but it’s relatively new to 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 pretty 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 you want to share your location with.
- Select Send.
Once you send, you have the option to share your location indefinitely, which I mostly do with friends, or just share your location for an hour or for the rest of the day. The person 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.