'Find My iPhone' App Updated With Driving Directions to Device Location

[MacRumors]

Apple has updated its Find My iPhone iOS app with the ability to display driving directions to the lost device's location.

Find My iPhone is a free service built into iCloud. It allows users to lock, find, or erase a lost or stolen iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac.

If you misplace your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, or Mac, the Find My iPhone app will let you use another iOS device to find it and protect your data. Simply install this free app on another iOS device, open it, and sign in with your Apple ID. Find My iPhone will help you locate your missing device on a map, play a sound, display a message, remotely lock your device, or erase all the data on it.

If the iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch you want to locate is running iOS 6, Find My iPhone also includes Lost Mode. Lost Mode locks your missing device with a 4-digit passcode and can display a contact phone number right on the lock screen. And while in Lost Mode, your device will keep track of where it has been and display its recent location history when you check in with the Find My iPhone app.??Please note that Find My iPhone must be enabled in the iCloud settings on your device for you to locate it with this app.

Find My iPhone is a free download from the App Store. [Direct Link]

Article Link: 'Find My iPhone' App Updated With Driving Directions to Device Location

[RayK]

Drive directly to the thieves. Exciting.

[RoelJuun]

...so you'll get yourself misplaced too.

[davidjearly]

I understand the logic in applying this feature, but isn't there a slight risk to Apple in including it?

That is, you drive to iPhone's location following its theft/loss to discover it is in the hands of a criminal who attacks you when you knock on their door. Result - Apple receives lawsuit...

I'm not saying they shouldn't have included it, but given the amount of crazy litigation I see happening all over the World these days, I'm slightly surprised.

Personally, I think it's a good feature addition.

[gmanist1000]

Originally Posted by RayK

Drive directly to the thieves. Exciting.

Exactly! Hopefully they tell the police about it and not intervene themselves... people could get hurt or worse.

[DTphonehome]

Just hope it's not in Mildura, Australia.

[MasterHowl]

But, you'll never get to the thief's house following Maps D:

[snorkelman]

when setting off on a trip you first post your phone to the desired destination, then you just use find my iphone to guide you to there

[extricated]

haha!
Everyone is picking up on exactly what I was thinking.

Drive to the seedy lowlife who stole your device and possibly end up losing your wallet (or your life) in the process.

Of course, that's worse case scenario stuff.

Hopefully, it's sitting on the barstool where you left it and you'll just go back to get it.

[SteveJobs2.0]

YOU: "Siri, give me the directions to my stolen iPhone!"

SIRI: "Ok, here are the directions to the nearest store that sells iPhones."

[C DM]

Originally Posted by davidjearly

I understand the logic in applying this feature, but isn't there a slight risk to Apple in including it?

That is, you drive to iPhone's location following its theft/loss to discover it is in the hands of a criminal who attacks you when you knock on their door. Result - Apple receives lawsuit...

I'm not saying they shouldn't have included it, but given the amount of crazy litigation I see happening all over the World these days, I'm slightly surprised.

Personally, I think it's a good feature addition.

Technically speaking, Apple is almost always referring to this feature in the sense of the phone being lost/misplaced, rather than stolen. In that sense, what's the downside of going the extra step and giving you the option to see driving directions to the location where your phone is if you have lost/misplaced it?

Now, if it has actually been stolen, well, that's slightly different, but at least the marketing intent of the app is for lost/misplaced phones.

[bushido]

that app is pretty useless anyway. lets say u lose your iPhone and follow the spot on your map, how can u possibly know which person stole your iphone? there are probably at least 5 people fairly close that own an iPhone as well

i lost my H&M jacket at the airport once and accused someone with the same jacket, eventually i found my jacket somewhere else again. needless to say that was embarrassing enough

[Vol7ron]

i wonder if it updates the location in realtime...As you are driving to get it, the device suddenly moves to the next street over, then the next, etc....Real life Pac-Man game - just the roles are reversed....

[ArtOfWarfare]

Originally Posted by DTphonehome

Just hope it's not in Mildura, Australia.

No no, didn't you hear the news? Apple has fixed that issue. Now you just need to hope its not in any of the hundreds (thousands?) of less well known towns that Apple maps has misplaced.

Edit: Actually, thinking about it, it's a non-issue. The lost device will report GPS coordinates and directions will use to and from GPS coordinates. So long as Apple doesn't have entirely misplaced roads, it should be fine... My understanding is its mostly location metadata that Apple has completely F'd with Apple Maps. Directions between coordinates should work fine.

[teddyofindy]

what if the thief steals your iphone, turns it off and then moves to another location? Will the app guide you to the new location?

[ThatsMeRight]

Originally Posted by davidjearly

I'm not saying they shouldn't have included it, but given the amount of crazy litigation I see happening all over the World these days, I'm slightly surprised.

Personally, I think it's a good feature addition.

Rather the United States. I think there's not a single judge in, for example, Europe that would let Apple pay a fine if something happened just because someone decided to drive to a thief using Apple's software.

[Lancer]

Originally Posted by dtphonehome

just hope it's not in mildura, australia.

lmao

[koban4max]

Originally Posted by teddyofindy

what if the thief steals your iphone, turns it off and then moves to another location? Will the app guide you to the new location?

They should make another update with one click from from your computer and will take a picture through the iphone (either side of the camera) of the person and siri will say, " here's the address to this fool, go kill him."

[BornAgainApple]

Ya can't get there from here.

[Tknull]

There should be an in-app purchase.... "Hire a Thug".... He can meet you at the location and handle the physical requirements

[VanityBonet]

I am sure they will not use apple maps to find it ...ugh

[olowott]

only works in the US of A

[bedifferent]

Originally Posted by bushido

that app is pretty useless anyway. lets say u lose your iPhone and follow the spot on your map, how can u possibly know which person stole your iphone? there are probably at least 5 people fairly close that own an iPhone as well

Send a message with an alarm to the iPhone. Assuming you are in close proximity, you should hear it. Of course this is dependent on the device being powered on.

I wish Apple would allow an app such as "IGotYa", which has been used to recover some stolen iPhones.

Stolen iPhone takes picture of woman, emails it to owner

[iThinkIt]

Originally Posted by stevejobs2.0

you: "siri, give me the directions to my stolen iphone!"

siri: "ok, here are the directions to the nearest store that sells iphones."

rotflol

[pnoyblazed]

Find My iPhone is useful, until they shut your phone off