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Apple's iCloud Website Gains New Find My Friends App

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Apr 12, 2001
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Apple today added a web-based Find My Friends app to its iCloud.com site (via 9to5Mac), allowing users to locate their friends on a Mac or PC through the web. Find My Friends has long been available on iPhones and iPads through an iOS app, but this is the first time the feature has been made available on all platforms through a universal web app.

findmyfriendsicloud-800x455.jpg

Find My Friends will display the location of each friend on a map, and it will also let users know which friends are located nearby. Today's addition of Find My Friends to iCloud.com comes following its promotion to a default app within iOS 9, which means it comes pre-installed on all iOS devices and cannot be deleted.

Find My Friends joins Find My iPhone and several other iCloud apps, including Mail, Calendar, Photos, Contacts, Notes, Reminders, iCloud Drive, and the iWork suite of apps,

Article Link: Apple's iCloud Website Gains New Find My Friends App
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2015/10/21/icloud-find-my-friends-app/
If a user is not in proximity to their iDevice (or the device is not connected to the net) and are instead logged in through the web; would Find My Friends point out where they are logged in instead of where their phone is?
 
captain cadet said:
Do people use Find My Friends? I find it too creepy that my friends can look me up to see where ever I am!
Click to expand...

I do. You choose who can and can't follow you, and you can change it at any time. You can also set it up to only allow them to track you for a limited time.

IE, this is super useful whenever I go with friends to an amusement park. We all set up Find My Friends so we can all track each other for the rest of the day. I also have it set up to always share with and track 3 of my best friends - we do stuff often enough together that it would just be a hassle to have to set this up all the time. Saves having to waste time asking people "Where are you?".

Super useful if you want to know a rough ETA for other people. IE, you're expecting someone at your house and want an ETA. But they're driving, so they shouldn't be using their phone to tell you. But if Find My Friends is set up, you just glance at that and you know where they are, so you know about how long until they reach you.

Now that I think about it though, I do wonder whether Find my Friends could be hacked. Could be a concern, except that info would only be useful for a limited time, and anything you figure out via that could probably be just as easily discovered via Facebook.
 
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The article notes that now people can access this via their desktop computer rather than just through mobile apps. It should be noted that this was already possible for people running the latest Mac OS. Clicking the top right icon on Mac opens a side bar and there you could always turn on the Find my Friends widget which allowed you to track a friends location as well as using Messages app on Mac you could click contact details with someone you are chatting with to see their location (if they are a friend on FMF). But still great that there is a website for it as well.
 
PatriotInvasion said:
Find My Friends - Making husbands scared to stop off at the strip club if their wife uses the app. No thanks.
Click to expand...
Yea... wives checking husbands' email and short messages, Ashley Madison being hacked, Find My Friends apps... modern technology has made being a lying and cheating ****** without morals and conscience really really difficult!

Not such a big issue for me, as I actually love my wife, but I am kinda odd, apparently...
 
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TechRemarker said:
Yes, many do, but it would be more aptly named, "Find My Family" since most use it to find/share location with their family members, which isn't creepy and is very helpful.
Click to expand...
There's also quite a few occasions where it is also useful with friends (for example when you go shopping and decide to split up), but obviously, you would not keep it activated permanently.
 
MacRumors said:



Apple today added a web-based Find My Friends app to its iCloud.com site (via 9to5Mac), allowing users to locate their friends on a Mac or PC through the web. Find My Friends has long been available on iPhones and iPads through an iOS app, but this is the first time the feature has been made available on all platforms through a universal web app.

findmyfriendsicloud-800x455.jpg

Find My Friends will display the location of each friend on a map, and it will also let users know which friends are located nearby. Today's addition of Find My Friends to iCloud.com comes following its promotion to a default app within iOS 9, which means it comes pre-installed on all iOS devices and cannot be deleted.

Find My Friends joins Find My iPhone and several other iCloud apps, including Mail, Calendar, Photos, Contacts, Notes, Reminders, iCloud Drive, and the iWork suite of apps,

Article Link: Apple's iCloud Website Gains New Find My Friends App
Click to expand...
 
I use this app frequently. As one person mentioned it is a good way to know when your spouse leaves work so you can start dinner. I also use it if my kids are late arriving at the bus stop after school. I can see how far away the bus is. My father has a variable work schedule so I can use the app to see if he is at work before I call.

As mentioned it is easy enough to turn it off so people cannot follow you at a later time. Since all the control is in your hand (literally) I don't think it is creepy at all.
 
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I've always wanted this for OS X. This will be a decent alternative. It'd be nice to see it integrated into Apple Maps for OS X

Edit: Apparently this is a widget in the today view of the notification center now, thanks everyone for letting me know!
 
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