You can turn off Find My iPhone in Settings, but Apple makes it deliberately hard because the feature protects your device if it's stolen

Find My iPhone is a tracking service that lets you locate, lock, or erase your device remotely if it goes missing. To turn it off, open Settings, tap your name at the top, select Find My, then Find My iPhone, and toggle it off. You'll need to enter your Apple ID password to confirm. The process takes about 30 seconds.

Apple designed it this way — requiring your password to disable it — specifically to prevent a thief from turning it off after stealing your phone. That same protection means you can't turn it off without knowing your Apple ID password, and you can't bypass it even if you forget the password yourself.

Before you disable it, understand what you're losing and what you're keeping. Find My iPhone does two separate things, and you need to know which one you actually want to turn off.

Key Takeaways

  • Find My iPhone requires your Apple ID password to disable, which prevents thieves from turning it off but also means you cannot disable it without that password.
  • Turning off Find My iPhone removes remote tracking and the ability to lock or erase your phone, but does not remove set up Lock, which still prevents anyone else from using the device.
  • If you want to sell or give away your iPhone, you must turn off Find My iPhone first, or the new owner will be locked out of the device permanently.
  • If you forgot your Apple ID password, you can reset it through Apple's website or by using another Apple device, but you cannot disable Find My iPhone without it.
  • Turning off Find My iPhone does not affect iCloud backups, Messages, or other iCloud services — only the location tracking and remote lock features.

The difference between Find My iPhone and set up Lock

Find My iPhone and set up Lock are related but separate. Find My iPhone is the tracking and remote control feature. set up Lock is the security lock that prevents anyone from setting up your iPhone as their own without your Apple ID password.

When you turn off Find My iPhone, set up Lock stays on. This means a thief cannot erase your phone and set it up as a new device — they're stuck with a locked phone they cannot use. But you lose the ability to see where your phone is or remotely erase it yourself.

If you're selling or giving your iPhone to someone else, you must turn off Find My iPhone so the new owner can set it up. set up Lock will still protect you because the new owner will need to remove your Apple ID from the device first, and that requires your password.

Why Apple makes it hard to turn off

The password requirement exists because of phone theft. If Find My iPhone could be disabled with a swipe, a thief could steal your phone, turn off tracking when ready, and you'd have no way to locate it. The password requirement forces a thief to either know your Apple ID password (which most don't) or sell the phone with Find My iPhone still active (which makes it nearly worthless).

This design choice means you cannot turn off Find My iPhone remotely. If your phone is lost or stolen, you can use Find My on another device to lock it or erase it, but you cannot disable the feature itself from a distance. You have to do it on the phone itself, with the phone in your hands, and with your password.

What to do if you forgot your Apple ID password

If you want to turn off Find My iPhone but don't remember your Apple ID password, you'll need to reset it first. Go to iforgot.apple.com, enter your Apple ID email address, and follow the prompts. Apple will send a verification link to your email or ask you to answer security questions you set up when you created the account.

Once you've reset your password, return to Settings, tap your name, select Find My, then Find My iPhone, and toggle it off. You'll be prompted to enter your Apple ID password again to confirm the change.

If you don't have access to the email address associated with your Apple ID, or you can't answer your security questions, contact Apple Support directly. They can verify your identity through other means, but the process takes longer.

Turning off Find My iPhone before selling or giving away your phone

If you're selling your iPhone or giving it to someone else, you must turn off Find My iPhone before handing it over. If you don't, the new owner will see a message saying the device is linked to your Apple ID, and they won't be able to set it up or use it.

The steps are the same: Settings, your name, Find My, Find My iPhone, toggle off, enter your password. After you do this, the new owner should also sign out of iCloud on the device (Settings, your name, scroll down, tap Sign Out) so they can sign in with their own Apple ID.

If you've already sold the phone and forgot to turn off Find My iPhone, contact the new owner and ask them to have you do it remotely. You can use Find My on another Apple device or go to iCloud.com, sign in with your Apple ID, select Find My iPhone, choose the device, and select Remove from Account. This will disable Find My iPhone without erasing the device.

What you keep when you turn off Find My iPhone

Turning off Find My iPhone does not affect your iCloud backups, your Messages, your photos in iCloud, or any other iCloud service. You keep all of those. The only thing you lose is the ability to track your device's location and remotely lock or erase it.

set up Lock remains on. If someone steals your phone after you've disabled Find My iPhone, they still cannot erase it and set it up as their own — they'll be stuck at the set up Lock screen, which requires your Apple ID password.

You can also still use Find My Friends (the separate app that lets you share your location with specific people) if you have it turned on. Turning off Find My iPhone does not affect that feature.

If your iPhone is lost or stolen and you want to keep Find My iPhone on

If your phone is missing, do not turn off Find My iPhone. Instead, use Find My on another Apple device or go to iCloud.com to locate it, lock it, or erase it remotely. Turning off the feature removes your ability to do any of those things.

If you cannot locate your phone and believe it's been stolen, contact your phone carrier and your bank to report the loss and watch for fraudulent charges. File a police report if you want to — some carriers and insurers require it. Then decide whether to erase the device remotely (which prevents the thief from accessing your data but makes recovery impossible) or leave it locked and trackable (which keeps the option to recover it open).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I turn off Find My iPhone without entering my password?

No. Apple requires your Apple ID password to disable Find My iPhone specifically to prevent thieves from turning it off. If you don't know your password, you'll need to reset it first through iforgot.apple.com or by using another Apple device.

Does turning off Find My iPhone erase my data?

No. Turning off Find My iPhone only disables the tracking and remote lock features. Your photos, messages, contacts, and all other data stay on the device. Your iCloud backups also remain intact.

What happens if I turn off Find My iPhone and then lose my phone?

You lose the ability to track it or remotely erase it. However, set up Lock still prevents anyone from setting it up as their own device without your Apple ID password, so the phone is still protected from being used by someone else.

Can I turn off Find My iPhone if I'm not the original owner?

No. You need the Apple ID password of the person who set up the device. If you bought a used iPhone and the previous owner didn't remove Find My iPhone, ask them to do it remotely through iCloud.com, or contact Apple Support with proof of purchase.

If I turn off Find My iPhone, can I turn it back on later?

Yes. You can turn Find My iPhone back on anytime by going to Settings, tapping your name, selecting Find My, then Find My iPhone, and toggling it on. You'll need your Apple ID password again.