Use Find My to locate an iPhone owned by someone else
You can find another person's iPhone through Find My, Apple's built-in location service, but only if that person has shared their location with you or added you as a trusted family member. The iPhone you are looking for must have location services turned on, be connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data, and have Find My enabled in their settings. You cannot locate a stranger's phone or someone who has not given you permission.
The most common way to see another person's location is through Family Sharing, which lets parents track children's devices and allows family members to see each other's locations with consent. If the person is not a family member, they can manually share their location with you through the Find My app, and you can do the same. Both methods require the other person to take action first — they must enable sharing or accept your request.
Key Takeaways
- Find My only shows another person's location if they have shared it with you or added you to their Family Sharing group.
- The iPhone you are looking for must have location services on, an active internet connection, and Find My enabled in Settings.
- Family Sharing is the easiest method for parents tracking children or family members who have agreed to share locations.
- If location sharing is turned off, you cannot see where the phone is, even if you know the Apple ID.
Set up Family Sharing to track family members' devices
Family Sharing is the most straightforward way to see the location of another family member's iPhone. The organizer — usually a parent — creates a Family Sharing group in Settings and invites other family members by their Apple ID. Once someone accepts the invitation and joins the group, their location becomes visible to all other members in the Find My app.
To set this up, open Settings on your iPhone, tap your name at the top, then select Family Sharing. Tap Create a Family Sharing group or Add Family Member, depending on whether the group already exists. Enter the Apple ID of the person you want to add. They will receive an invitation on their device; once they accept, their location will appear in your Find My app under the People tab. Children's devices can be added by a parent without requiring acceptance, though the child will see that their location is being shared.
Family Sharing also works across iPad and Mac devices. If a family member uses multiple Apple devices, you will see the location of whichever device is currently active and connected to the internet. The location updates in real time as long as both devices have location services and internet access enabled.
Share your location with someone who is not a family member
If you want to share your location with a friend, coworker, or anyone outside your family, you can do this directly through the Find My app without setting up Family Sharing. Open Find My, tap the People tab, then tap Share My Location. Select the contact you want to share with, choose how long to share (one hour, until end of day, or indefinitely), and send the request.
The other person will receive a notification and can accept or decline. Once they accept, they can see your location in their Find My app. You can stop sharing at any time by opening Find My, tapping the People tab, selecting the person, and choosing Stop Sharing My Location. This method is temporary and one-directional — sharing your location does not automatically let you see theirs unless they also choose to share with you.
Check that location services are on for the device you want to find
If you are trying to locate someone else's iPhone but cannot see their location in Find My, the problem is usually that location services are turned off on their device. Location services must be enabled for Find My to work. Ask the person to go to Settings, tap Privacy, then Location Services, and make sure the toggle at the top is turned on (it should be green).
They should also check that Find My has permission to use location. In the same Location Services menu, scroll down and tap Find My. Make sure Allow Location Access is set to Always or While Using the App. If it is set to Never, Find My cannot see the device's location. Additionally, their device must be connected to Wi-Fi or cellular data — a phone with location services on but no internet connection will not send location updates.
If the person's iPhone is powered off, in airplane mode, or has not connected to the internet in several hours, you may see their last known location instead of their current one. Find My shows a timestamp next to the location so you can tell how recent the information is.
Use Find My iPhone if the device is lost or stolen
If you own an iPhone that belongs to someone else — such as a parent managing a child's device or an employer managing a company phone — you can use Find My iPhone to locate it even if location sharing was not previously set up. This works only if the device is registered to your Apple ID or if you have the device's Apple ID and password.
Go to iCloud.com on a computer or another device, sign in with your Apple ID, and click Find My iPhone. Select the device from the list. If it is online and location services are enabled, you will see its location on a map. You can also play a sound to help locate it nearby, lock the device remotely, or erase it if it has been stolen and you want to protect your data.
This method is different from location sharing because it does not require the other person's permission — it is designed for situations where you have legitimate ownership or management rights over the device. If you are trying to locate someone else's phone without their knowledge or permission, this is not a legal option.
Understand what happens when someone turns off location sharing
If someone stops sharing their location with you, you will no longer see their device in Find My. There is no way to override this — you cannot locate their phone if they have disabled location sharing. The person will not receive a notification that you tried to find them, but they will see in their Find My settings that you are no longer listed as someone they are sharing with.
If a family member leaves your Family Sharing group, their location will disappear from your Find My app when ready. They can do this themselves by going to Settings, tapping their name, selecting Family Sharing, and choosing to leave the group. A parent can also remove a child from the group, which will stop showing that child's location to other family members.
If you need to locate someone regularly — such as a child or elderly parent — it is important to have a conversation about location sharing before a situation arises where you need it. Setting up Family Sharing or mutual location sharing ahead of time prevents confusion and ensures everyone understands why the location is being tracked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I find someone's iPhone if they have not shared their location with me?
No. You can only see another person's location if they have shared it with you through Find My or added you to their Family Sharing group. There is no way to locate a phone without the owner's permission or knowledge, even if you know their Apple ID.
What if the iPhone is turned off or out of battery?
Find My will show the last location where the device was online. The timestamp next to the location tells you how long ago that was. Once the phone is turned back on and connects to the internet, the location will update in real time.
Can I see the location history of another iPhone, or just the current location?
Find My shows only the current location or the most recent location if the device is offline. It does not provide a history of where the phone has been. If you need location history, you would need to check the iPhone's own location history through Settings, which only the device owner can access.
Does the other person know I am looking at their location?
No. Once someone has shared their location with you, they will not receive a notification each time you check Find My. However, they can see in their own Find My settings that you are listed as someone they are sharing with, so they know the sharing is active.
What is the difference between Find My and Find My iPhone?
Find My is the app you use to see the location of people and devices you are connected to. Find My iPhone is a feature within Find My that lets you locate, lock, or erase an iPhone you own or manage. Both use the same location data, but Find My iPhone is for devices you have ownership rights over.