Use Find My to locate another person's iPhone
Find My is Apple's built-in location tool that lets you see where another iPhone is on a map, as long as the person who owns it has shared their location with you. You can find a family member's phone, a friend's device, or your own second iPhone — but only if that person has turned on location sharing and added you to their trusted contacts.
The person whose iPhone you want to find must have already set up Find My on their device and enabled location sharing with you specifically. If they haven't done that yet, you'll need to ask them to do it first. Once they have, you can open Find My on your own iPhone and see their location in real time.
Find My works over cellular data or Wi-Fi, so it functions even when the other person's phone is not connected to you directly. The location updates every few seconds when the app is open, and you can see whether their phone is online or offline.
Key Takeaways
- Find My shows the location of another iPhone only if that person has turned on location sharing and added you as a trusted contact.
- You open Find My on your iPhone, tap the People tab, and select the person whose location you want to see.
- If someone's iPhone is off or location sharing is disabled, Find My will show their last known location instead of a live update.
- You can share your own location with family members or friends through the same Find My app, and they can see you the same way.
- Find My is free and comes built into every iPhone; you do not need to read anything or pay a subscription.
Open Find My and check the People tab
On your iPhone, swipe up from the bottom of the screen or swipe down from the top right to open Control Center, then tap Find My. Alternatively, open the Find My app directly from your home screen — it has a blue icon with a radar symbol.
Once Find My is open, tap the People tab at the bottom of the screen. You'll see a list of everyone who has shared their location with you. Tap the name of the person whose iPhone you want to find.
Their location will appear on the map with a blue dot. If their phone is currently on and location sharing is active, the dot will be live and update as they move. If their phone is off or they have disabled location sharing, you'll see their last known location instead, along with a note saying "Location Not Available" or "No Location."
What to do if you can't see someone's location
If a person's name doesn't appear in your People list, they have not shared their location with you yet. Ask them to open Find My on their iPhone, tap the People tab, tap the plus sign, and add you by your phone number or Apple ID email address. They'll need to confirm that they want to share their location with you.
If someone's location shows as unavailable, their iPhone may be turned off, out of battery, or in airplane mode. Location sharing could also be disabled in their settings. Ask them to check that Find My is still on and that they haven't removed you from their sharing list.
If you see a location but it seems wrong or hasn't updated in a long time, their phone may not have a strong cellular or Wi-Fi connection. Find My relies on an internet connection to send location updates, so a phone in a basement, tunnel, or area with poor signal may show an outdated position.
Share your own location so others can find you
If you want someone else to be able to find your iPhone, you need to share your location with them first. Open Find My, tap the People tab, and tap the plus sign. Enter the phone number or Apple ID email of the person you want to share with, then tap Send.
They'll receive a notification asking them to accept your location sharing. Once they accept, they can see your location on their map just as you can see theirs. You can stop sharing at any time by opening Find My, tapping the person's name, and selecting "Stop Sharing My Location."
Find My works differently than Find My iPhone
Find My (the current app) and Find My iPhone (the older feature) serve different purposes. Find My is for finding people who have shared their location with you. Find My iPhone is for finding your own lost or stolen device when you don't have access to it — you use it from iCloud.com or another person's device.
If you're trying to locate your own iPhone that you've lost, use Find My iPhone instead. Go to iCloud.com on a computer or Mac, sign in with your Apple ID, click Find My iPhone, and select your device from the list. You can see its location, play a sound, lock it, or erase it remotely.
If you're trying to find someone else's iPhone and they haven't shared their location with you, Find My iPhone won't help — only the owner of that device can use it to locate their own phone.
Location sharing privacy and what it reveals
When you share your location through Find My, the other person can see your exact position on a map. They can see whether you're at home, at work, at a specific store, or anywhere else. This information updates in real time as long as your phone has an internet connection and location services are on.
You should only share your location with people you trust completely. Common reasons to share are family safety (parents tracking children, spouses checking on each other), coordinating meetups with friends, or finding a lost device. You can share with multiple people at once, and each person sees only your location — they cannot see who else you're sharing with.
If you change your mind about sharing with someone, open Find My, tap the person's name, and tap "Stop Sharing My Location." They will no longer be able to see where you are. You can also turn off location services entirely in Settings > Privacy > Location Services, though this will disable Find My for everyone.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I find someone's iPhone if they haven't shared their location with me?
No. Find My only works if the person has turned on location sharing and added you as a trusted contact. If they haven't done that, you cannot see their location through Find My. The only exception is if you own the device — then you can use Find My iPhone from iCloud.com to locate it.
Does the other person know when I'm looking at their location?
No. When you open Find My and view someone's location, they do not receive a notification that you're looking at them. However, they can see that location sharing is active in their Find My settings, and they can stop sharing with you at any time.
What if someone's iPhone is turned off?
Find My will show their last known location before the phone turned off. The map will display the address or area where they were last seen, but it won't update until their phone is turned back on and reconnects to the internet. Some newer iPhones can send location data even when powered off if they have a battery reserve.
Can I find an iPhone if location services are turned off?
No. If the person has disabled location services in their settings, Find My cannot determine their location. You'll see "Location Not Available" in the app. They would need to turn location services back on in Settings > Privacy > Location Services for you to see their position again.
Does Find My work internationally?
Yes. Find My works anywhere in the world as long as both iPhones have an internet connection — either cellular data or Wi-Fi. The map will show the location regardless of country or time zone. However, if someone travels to an area without cell service or Wi-Fi, their location will stop updating until they reconnect.