Security

Find My overview

The Find My app combines Find My iPhone and Find My Friends into a single app in iOS, iPadOS, and macOS. Find My can help users locate a missing device, even an offline Mac. An online device can simply report its location to the user via iCloud. Find My works offline by sending out short range Bluetooth signals from the missing device that can be detected by other Apple devices in use nearby. Those nearby devices then relay the detected location of the missing device to iCloud so users can locate it in the Find My app—all while protecting the privacy and security of all the users involved. Find My even works with a Mac that is offline and asleep.

Using Bluetooth and the hundreds of millions of iOS, iPadOS, and macOS devices in active use around the world, the user can locate a missing device, even if it can’t connect to a Wi-Fi or cellular network. Any iOS, iPadOS, or macOS device with “offline finding” enabled in Find My settings can act as a “finder device.” This means the device can detect the presence of another missing offline device using Bluetooth and then use its network connection to report an approximate location back to the owner. When a device has offline finding enabled, it also means that it can be located by other participants in the same way. This entire interaction is end-to-end encrypted, anonymous, and designed to be battery and data efficient, so there is minimal impact on battery life cellular data plan usage and user privacy is protected.

Note: Find My may not be available in all countries or regions.

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Apple Platform Security

Find My overview