Ever since the Find My iPhone service debuted as part of the iPhone 3.0 software package in mid-2009 , Apple ’s iOS gimmick location offer been a popular feature article . By using your iOS gadget ’s locating — determined using GPS circuitry or wireless activity ( or both)—Find My iPhone lets you locate , and even track , your iPhone , iPad , or iPod touch , via the World Wide Web or a dedicated Find My iPhone app . Assuming the twist has late been on ( and , in the case of Wi - Fi - only devices , awake ) and connected to a nomadic or Wi - Fi mesh , you’re able to actually see its locating on a map , as well as send a message to it , play a sound on it , remotely lock it , or even securely erase its content .
While Find My iPhone was originally designed as a way to recover — or , spoiled - character scenario , erase — your iOS twist if it ’s lose or stolen , it ’s also become popular for other employment . More than a few iPhone substance abuser who ’ve misplaced their iPhone at abode have used the Find My iPhone strait to reveal the phone ’s localisation under a jacket next to the lounge . And my wife and I now and again use the service to see each other ’s progress during weekend errand runs .
Here ’s a flavour at setting up and using these services .
Get set up
If you ’ve been using a MobileMe invoice or an Apple ID with Find My iPhone , you may persist in using the service with those account statement . you may also apply an exist Apple ID with Find MyFriendsonce you ’ve converted that ID to iCloud . ( This pass automatically when you sign in to iCloud under iOS 5 in the options app , or under Lion on your Mac via the newfangled iCloud pane of System Preferences or by visitingiCloud.comin a web browser app . ) However , you wo n’t be capable to expend Find My Friends with your MobileMe ID until youmigrate that MobileMe account to iCloud .
If you do n’t yet have an iCloud business relationship or a MobileMe account you ’ll be migrating to iCloud , you may create an iCloud report eitherwhen updating your Io gadget(s ) to iOS 5 , or on the iCloud.com internet site on your Mac . iCloud expect Mac OS X 10.7.2 ( Lion ) and iOS 5 .
Once you ’ve got a valid iCloud business relationship or Apple ID , you simply use that name and password to sign in to the Find My iPhone iOS app , the find oneself My Friends iOS app , orthe iCloud website(where you click the Find My iPhone button ) .
Use Find My iPhone and Find My Mac
On each equipment you want to be able to line up using Find My iPhone ( or , as the vitrine may be , Find My iPad or Find My iPod ) , you ’ll need to activate the service :
Once you ’ve coiffe up your twist , you could practice the Find My iPhone iOS app or the iCloud site to find them . To use the app , set in motion it on any iOS twist , and then sign in using your Apple or iCloud ID and parole . To use the website , lumber in to iCloud.com and then click the Find My iPhone button .
The Devices inclination displays every machine — iPhone , iPad , iPod touch , and Mac — link with your account ( and , of course of study , with Find My iPhone or ascertain My Mac enabled ) . You ’ll find this list in the upper left corner on the iCloud site ’s Find My iPhone page , or by tapping the Devices release in the iOS app . A fleeceable dot next to a gimmick think of it was turn up ; a red dot means it could not be found . The condition of each equipment — how long ago it was located , or that it was n’t locate — is display just below its name .
Tap a twist to view its location on a Google map . As with the Google Maps site or app , you may zoom in our out , and you may flip between Map , Satellite , and Hybrid views . unluckily , you ca n’t track the locating of a gimmick over time — the service shows only the most - recent emplacement .
Tap the blueibutton for a gimmick , and you get several options . wager Sound Or send off Message let you send a textual message that appears on the gimmick ’s screen , play a loud sound on the gadget ( even if the gadget is muted ) , or both . Remote Lock locks the gimmick , iOS or Mac , with a four - digit passcode . In the case of an iOS machine , it uses your usual whorl codification , if you have one ; otherwise , it asks you to provide one .
If you opt to Remote Lock a Mac , once the Mac receive the lock command , it actually shut down . The next time you set about to start up the Mac , it boots intoLion Recoveryand asks you to enter the passcode ; if you opt to display a message , that message is displayed on the same covert . Once you ’ve entered the right passcode , the Mac reboots normally .
The final option is Remote Wipe . As I explained when this feature debuted , Remote Wipe allow you completely erase — securely — all data and preferences from your phone . In the character of a Mac , it also sets a four - digit passcode that lets you get at your Mac if you ever recuperate it . Of course , you should use the Remote Wipe option on any gadget only as a last stamping ground . ( This is also a good time to remind you to have honest fill-in of your devices . )
For any of these options — Play Sound Or ship Message , Remote Lock , and Remote Wipe — you also invite a confirmation electronic mail when the message or command was receive by the twist .
If a twist associated with your Apple ID ca n’t be found , its options cover in the Find My iPhone app or on the iCloud website gains an Email When Found on-off switch . Switch this to On , and the next fourth dimension that equipment touch base to the cyberspace , the iCloud service will send you an email noting the specific escort and time the gimmick was settle ( and mastermind you to the app or the iCloud website to do any Find MyDeviceactions ) .
Use Find My Friends
For anyone who , like me , has used Find My iPhone to find a spouse or other family member , iCloud ’s get hold My protagonist feature film will seem like an obvious patterned advance . usable only using the newfangled detect My Friends Io app , not the iCloud site , Find My friend employ the same technology as Find My iPhone to rent you turn up booster by finding their iOS machine — assume they ’ve devote you permission , of course of study .
Launch the Find My Friends app on your iPhone , iPad , or iPod soupcon , and you ’ll be ask to move into your Apple ID ( your iCloud account name ) and password . Tap Sign In , confirm that you require to share your location , and you ’ll see either ( on the iPhone or iPod touch sensation ) a list of your friends or ( on the iPad ) a map show the location of any friends you ’re accompany . ( On an iPad in landscape predilection , the friends list appears on the left ; in portait predilection , tap the list button in the upper left wing to see your supporter leaning . ) On first launching , your lean will taunt you with a banner that take , “ No Friends . ”
Add friends and consent requests : The first thing you’l want to do is add some friends to follow . tapdance the Add ( + ) button ; typewrite a supporter ’s Apple ID or , to choose an exist contact , tap the Add Contact ( + ) button ( you could send a request to multiple people at once ) ; and , if you care , enter a customs message . ( If you do n’t enter a substance , recipients will simply get a generic request . ) alas , the app does n’t provide any indication of which champion are using receive My Friends , or , for friends with multiple electronic mail addresses , which is their iCloud report . Tap Send and you ’ll see a message explaining that you ’ll be able-bodied to adopt them after they accept your request . Once the friend has approved your postulation , he or she will seem in your Friend list .
remark that if your request is approve by your friend , that just have in mind thatyoucan seetheirlocation . If they want to similarly follow your location , they ’ll need to send you a disjoined asking , which you must then approve . In other words , a follow request is unidirectional , not reciprocal .
If you want acquaintance to be able-bodied to send request to one or more email addresses other than your Apple ID , you’re able to add those address in your account preferences atappleid.apple.com : On the Name , ID , and Email Addresses screen , just come home Add Email Address .
Locate your Friend : you could view the locations of your friends — the people you follow — in several room . beg the All Friends detail in the Friend list , and you ’ll see the aforementioned Google Mac displaying ( in purpleness ) the localisation of every friend presently countenance their location to be tracked ; your location is displayed in blue . rap a person ’s mathematical function pin , and you ’ll see their name and a description of their location . On the iPad , you ’ll also see , at the bottom of the screen , detailed information such as the person ’s photograph ( if you ’ve added it to their contact ) , the existent address of their location , and buttons to reckon their contact info and directions ( in the Maps app ) from your emplacement to theirs . On the iPhone or iPod speck , you may see standardised detail by solicit the blueibutton next to the soul ’s name on the Find My Quaker map .
Alternatively , you could tap a protagonist ’s name in your friends list to view just the localization and details for that person . The friends lean also displays a general name for each person ’s current placement ( for example , a metropolis or point of interest , or , if the locating matches a location in the person ’s Contacts entry , just home base or body of work ) , as well as the distance , up to 99 miles , between you and that person . If you tap Label for a friend ’s position , you could give their current location a more - useful recording label , such asMacworld SF Offices . ( Note that the label will be expose only at that particular location . If their location is , for example , a street figure off , it wo n’t display your chosen label .
However you see a admirer ’s detailed information , you’re able to rap the Send Message clitoris to post a text edition message , the FaceTime release to initiate a FaceTime connection , an email speech to send an e-mail , and so on ; doing so switches to the appropriate app .
make temporary eventsWhat if you want to share your location with particular individuals temporarily ? This could come in handy , for example , if you ’re meeting friends for dinner party , or if you ’re in a group gossip an entertainment park together and you want to keep caterpillar tread of each other . recover My Friends allows such sharing by creating a temporary event . beg the Temporary clit at the bottom of the screen and then beg Invite Friends ( on a portrait - orientation course iPad , veil in the list popover — tap the listing release in the upper left ) . tote up mass to ask in , give the temporary effect a name , and tap the Ends field to choose a date and time for the event to end — in other words , the time at which the listed masses will no longer be capable to locate each other ( unless , of course , some of them are follow each other independent of the impermanent issue ) .
Tap Send , and your invitation is sent . take note that if you transport an invite to someone who is n’t already using recover My friend , they ’ll receive the invite via e-mail , with information on downloading the app , instead of as an iOS presentment . What ’s unique about temporary - event invitations is that when friends have that invitation , the location sharing is automatically multi - way — for the continuance of the event , everyone can follow everyone else , without each person take to switch two invites with every other person .
At any time , you may view the Temporary lean to see a list of temporary outcome and their participants . For any event , you could tap View Map to take in a mapping with each soul ’s emplacement marked ; or knock Send iMessage to post a message , using the Messages app , to everyone in the radical . ( For the latter action , the Messages app must be configure with the Apple ID you habituate for Find My supporter . ) you may also tap any participant to take in their details . If you create the event , you may pink the upshot name to view a summary of the consequence , as well as to delete the effect name and close , to withdraw or add participants , or to delete the effect . For events you did n’t create , you may tap an event and then tap LeaveEvent Nameto go away it .
Use multiple iOS devices with find out My Friends : If you ’ve got an iPhone and an iPad , to utilise a rough-cut illustration , you may sign in to Find My Friends on both devices using the same Apple ID . However , your friends will be able to consider the locating of only one machine . To choose which equipment will locatable , tap Me at the bottom of the silver screen , then strike Account , then tap the want twist under Active Devices . You ’ll still be able to apply the Find My Friends app on any of your iOS 5 gadget , but only the take gadget ’s location will be visible to your follower .
Other preferences : The Me screen displays information about you . For example , intercept the Near field of operation to view your current location on a Google mapping . Just as you may assign a more - meaningful label to a friend ’s location , you may rename your own current localization — the location that appears to your follower . Tap Label , and then choose from one of the pedigree label ( Home , Work , School , Gym , or None ) or make your own usage recording label . This is also where , as noted above , you’re able to remove followers .
Tap Accounts on the Me projection screen to access a number of account - bear on options . In addition to the aforementioned circumstance for opt a machine to be cut through , you may take whether or not to have friend requests ; choose which of the electronic mail speech you ’ve configure on appleid.apple.com appears in the requests you charge to friends ; and catch Find My Friend ’s Help documentation .
Finally , if you manage the iOS gimmick of , say , your child , you may employ iOS ’s restriction options ( in the General section of the options app ) to prevent any modification to chance My friend setting , as well as to the current friends list . Just enable restriction ( if they are n’t already enabled ) ; provide a four - digit passcode , if necessary ; scroll down to the Allow Changes section and wiretap Find My Friends ; and then spigot Do n’t Allow Changes .
Creepy but fun
It ’s a petty disturbing to know that your precise location is seeable to anyone you set aside to trace you . At the same time , in my circumscribed testing of Find My Friends , I ’ve find it to be fun — with the right group of people — and even , in situations such as keeping track of kinfolk members , quite utile . The practiced news is that it ’s entirely optional , but easy to coiffure up and utilise .
[ Dan Frakes is a older editor program for Macworld . ]
Updated 10/13/2011 , 9:55am to let in preeminence about the Email When feel choice , and to notice that Find My Mac can only be enable by a user with administrative entree . update 10/18/2011 , 9:27pm to note that witness My Mac involve a Recovery HD segmentation .
