How to turn off Find My on iPhone

On an iPhone, Find My is built into Settings and controlled through your Apple ID. Open Settings, tap your name at the top, then select Find My. You will see two options: Find My iPhone and Find My Friends. Tap Find My iPhone, then toggle it off. Your phone will ask you to confirm your Apple ID password before the feature shuts down.

If you have multiple Apple devices linked to the same account, turning off Find My iPhone on one device does not affect the others. Each device has its own toggle. You can turn it off on your iPhone while keeping it on for your iPad or Mac, or vice versa.

After you turn it off, your device will no longer send its location to Apple's servers, and you will not appear in the Find My app on other people's devices. If you later want to turn it back on, follow the same path and toggle it on again.

Key Takeaways

  • On iPhone, go to Settings > [Your Name] > Find My > Find My iPhone and toggle it off, then enter your Apple ID password to confirm.
  • On Android, the process depends on your phone manufacturer — Samsung uses Find Mobile, Google Pixel uses Find My Mobile, and other brands may use their own version.
  • Turning off Find My does not delete your location history; it only stops the service from tracking your current location going forward.
  • You can turn Find My back on at any time using the same settings menu, and the feature will resume sending location data when ready.

How to turn off Find My on Android phones

Android does not have a single Find My service the way iPhone does. Instead, the feature depends on your phone's manufacturer. Samsung phones use Find Mobile, Google Pixel phones use Find My Mobile, and other brands like OnePlus or Motorola may use their own version or rely on Google's system.

For a Google Pixel or most Android phones using Google's system, open Settings, tap Security and emergency, then Find My Mobile. Toggle it off. You may be asked to confirm with your Google account password. For Samsung phones, open Settings, tap Accounts and backup, select Samsung Account, then Find Mobile, and toggle it off there.

If you are unsure which system your phone uses, search your Settings for "Find My" or the manufacturer's name plus "Find My" — for example, "OnePlus Find My" or "Motorola Find My". The exact path varies, but the toggle is always in Settings under Security, Accounts, or a manufacturer-specific section.

What happens when you turn Find My off

When you disable Find My, your phone stops sending its location to the company's servers. If someone has your device listed in their Find My app or Friends list, they will no longer see where you are. Your location history is not deleted — it remains on your device and in your account — but the real-time tracking stops.

Turning off Find My does not affect other location services on your phone. Maps, weather apps, and location-based reminders will still work because they use your phone's GPS and location settings separately. Find My is one specific feature, not all location tracking.

If you have shared your location with family members through Find My Friends (iPhone) or Family Link (Android), those connections will also stop working once you turn off Find My. The other people will see that your location is no longer available.

When you might want to turn Find My off

Some people turn off Find My because they want privacy from family members or partners who have access to their account. Others disable it because they are concerned about data collection or do not want their location stored on company servers. A few people turn it off temporarily while traveling internationally to avoid unexpected charges or location data being sent across borders.

If your phone is lost or stolen and you have already turned off Find My, you will not be able to locate it remotely using that feature. For this reason, many people keep Find My on as a safety measure and only turn it off when they have a specific reason to do so.

You might also turn off Find My if you are selling or giving away your phone. Before handing it to someone else, disable Find My so the new owner is not tracked by your account, and make sure you have signed out of your Apple ID or Google account on the device.

How to turn off location sharing with specific people

If you want to keep Find My on but stop sharing your location with one or two specific people, you do not have to turn off the entire feature. On iPhone, open Find My, tap the People tab, find the person you want to stop sharing with, and tap Stop Sharing My Location. On Android with Google Family Link, open the app, select the person, and toggle off location sharing for that individual.

This approach lets you keep Find My active for emergencies or your own use while controlling who can see where you are. You can turn sharing back on for that person later if you change your mind, or stop sharing with multiple people while keeping it on for others.

Turning Find My back on if you change your mind

If you turn off Find My and later decide you want it back on, the process is straightforward and takes less than a minute. Go back to the same Settings menu where you turned it off, toggle Find My back on, and enter your password to confirm. Your phone will when ready start sending location data again.

Once Find My is back on, anyone who had access to your location before will see it again — assuming they still have you in their Find My or Family Link app. There is no waiting period or additional setup required. The feature resumes exactly as it was before you disabled it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does turning off Find My delete my location history?

No. Turning off Find My stops the service from tracking your location going forward, but your past location history remains stored on your device and in your account. If you want to delete that history, you need to do so separately through your account settings.

Can I turn off Find My for just one person instead of everyone?

Yes. On iPhone, open Find My, tap People, select the person, and tap Stop Sharing My Location. On Android, open Family Link or your manufacturer's app, select the person, and toggle off location sharing. This keeps Find My on for everyone else.

Will my phone still work without Find My on?

Yes. Find My is one optional feature. Turning it off does not affect calls, texts, apps, or any other phone function. Maps and other location-based apps will still work because they use your phone's GPS separately from Find My.

What if I lose my phone after turning Find My off?

You will not be able to locate it using Find My. You can still contact your phone company to report it lost or stolen, and they may be able to help you remotely lock or erase it. Some phone companies offer their own device tracking service separate from Find My.

Do I need to turn off Find My before selling my phone?

Yes. Before selling or giving away your phone, turn off Find My and sign out of your Apple ID or Google account. This prevents the new owner from being tracked by your account and ensures they can set up the phone with their own account.