How it works
When you join a family, you'll be asked if you want to share your location with your family members. If you agree:
- Your location might be displayed on family members’ devices using iOS 8 or later in Find My Friends and Messages.
- The location of your shared devices will also appear on family members’ devices in Find My iPhone. If needed, you can choose which device you want to share your location from.
If your family members agree, you'll see their location in the apps on your devices.
Choose when to share
When you join a family, you can choose whether or not you want to share your location.
You can see your settings when you go to Settings > iCloud > Share My Location.
If you want to stop sharing your location, turn off Share My Location. This will hide your location from all of your family members and any of your approved friends.
To choose which family members to share your location with, tap their name.
Choose which device to share your location from
By default, the device you used to sign in to Family Sharing is the one that shares your location. If you want to share your location from a different device:
- Go to Settings > iCloud > Share My Location and tap From.
- Select which device you want to share from.
Use location sharing with Find My iPhone
If you join Family Sharing and choose to share your location with family members, they can find and secure a missing device for you.
If you turned on Find My iPhone on your missing device, a family member can:
- See the location and online or offline status of your device.
- Play a sound on your missing device to help you find it.
- Put your device in Lost Mode if it was already set up with a passcode.
If you don't share your location, family members can’t access location information about your devices. Without location information, family members can still help you. They can check your missing device's online or offline status, play a sound on the device, or put the device in Lost Mode.
Some features might not be available in all countries due to technical limitations or local law.