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It should be like tile or waze. If I want to take advantage of the service I will toggle a switch and contribute to the network I’m benefiting in. However if I don’t have airtags then I would like to opt out of the network.


You can. You can just turn off Find My. It's explained up-thread I believe.
 
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i read there is a Apple fail safe where the iPhne can detect if someone put a airTag on your person. Its one thing putting an airTag on your cat but not a good thing to put one on another person w/o their permission.
 
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It should be like tile, Apple Maps traffic or waze. If I want to take advantage of the service I will toggle a switch and contribute to the network I’m benefiting in. However if I don’t have airtags then I would like to opt out of the network.

I’m really curious what is the hesitation around this, but no one who opposes it will give any hint of why. I’d wager the majority have been running Find My Network with no issues, so what’s changed now.
 
I’m really curious what is the hesitation around this, but no one who opposes it will give any hint of why. I’d wager the majority have been running Find My Network with no issues, so what’s changed now.
Same reason I don’t want to participate in waze or install tile app to help the millions of tile users out there. My device is my device. I’ll contribute if I feel like it. But in its current iteration, turning off find my network means I can’t use my own devices to log my own offline devices.

I will also say this. People in these forums have speculated and looked for every imaginable way to maximize battery life. For me this is just one of those things… how ever minuscule it may be.
 
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But I want to use find my for my phones and iPads. Just not tags. I will rely on cellular and my devices gps.

This thread seems to have a lot of miscommunication. I believe they’re trying to say that is how it works already. I didn’t realize this either but I checked and indeed “Find my iPhone” is a separate toggle from the “Find My Network”. Disabling the latter doesn’t disable the former which relies on GPS and cellular.
 
Not sure how this selfish. If my phone is lost i use the app to find it via GPS. Not using your phone

The airtag mesh is new and something I do not wAnt to participate in.
The OP wants to use the Find My feature as it was originally intended (until AirTags) and that is fine with me. As I said, I don't think wanting to keep it for private use makes one selfish. Others here will disagree and that is fine.

Thank you. You are better at articulating my position than I am. 😂


I think because everyone got their backs up no one is communicating particularly clearly: this is exactly how it works. You can disable the Find my Network mesh while retaining the ability to locate your phone by GPS/Cell signal. The airtags mesh isn’t new. The Find My Network works like this already. You can turn it off and still use Find My iPhone with cell and gps.

Edit: full disclosure, I didn’t know the above either. But the posts by @melevittfl and @nate13 caused me to double check and indeed, it seems that the OP’s desired behavior is exactly what the toggles currently do.
 
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This person is correct, turning off the second option means you no longer help people to find their devices but you can continue to find your own
A971AEAD-97D7-4BE6-8C47-937513D1AA79.png
 
This thread seems to have a lot of miscommunication. I believe they’re trying to say that is how it works already. I didn’t realize this either but I checked and indeed “Find my iPhone” is a separate toggle from the “Find My Network”. Disabling the latter doesn’t disable the former which relies on GPS and cellular.
Yes this is correct
 
I know all that. I agreed with the OP that there should be a toggle.
I don’t think you actually understand how the Find My network works. If you just toggle that option Off, then you’re still capable of finding your device as long as it’s connected to internet.
But if you want to find your device even when offline, then you need to enable the Find My network.

If the OP wants to find his device even when offline but doesn’t want to contribute to the network then I’m sorry, it’s textbook definition of selfish. But if he’s fine with tracking his own device using the device’s GPS only when connected to internet, he can totally disable the Find My option and still be able to find his own device although in vastly diminished capacity. And this would be within his rights.
 
The reason some here want to know the reason is so they can determine if they will accept the reason as being valid for the hive to agree to. The OP's reason doesn't need validation from others, unless the OP wishes to seek validation from complete strangers about a matter of personal concern.

Some here want to know the reason and then will try and shame the OP into feeling bad for not going with proverbial flow. Good on the OP for not bowing to any "peer pressure."
WOW! Did it ever occur to you that people here may want to know the OP's reason so it will help them find alternative options, especially since the OP didn't go for the first recommendation? For you to say that people here want to shame him is over the top. SMH.
 
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Thanks to those who provided the answer about find my iphone and find my network being 2 different options (and where to find them!).

This answers my original question that yes you can opt out of the mesh network but still be able to find your iphone with the caveat that it cant be located if it is offline and only locAted if it is using GPS/wifi.
 
Thanks to those who provided the answer about find my iphone and find my network being 2 different options (and where to find them!).

This answers my original question that yes you can opt out of the mesh network but still be able to find your iphone with the caveat that it cant be located if it is offline and only locAted if it is using GPS/wifi.
Glad you found the answer. I was worried it got buried.
 
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Just got to watch how you go through the screens after an update. The big blue button doesn’t usually have your best interests in mind (it’s the small blue text below it that does).

I have more faith in settings staying set as they were after updates on Apple gear than anything from Google or Microsoft. Could always go old-school and keep Bluetooth completely turned off.
 
There is a way, I just told you how.

It sucks that you can't disable helping other people find their lost property, but still take advantage of other people participating to help you locate your lost property?

Don't you think that's a bit selfish?
Your phone doesn’t need to “take advantage of other people participating” as it will use its own cellular connection and gps.
 
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To be fair, pre airtags the OP was part of a mesh that was designed to help find quite specific items i.e. Phones and Ipads

Whereas AirTags A by design would be attached to all manner of items Some of which the OP might prefer not to help find and B the AirTags are hardly making any active quid pro quo contribution to the mesh themselves
 
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It should be like tile, Apple Maps traffic or waze. If I want to take advantage of the service I will toggle a switch and contribute to the network I’m benefiting in. However if I don’t have airtags then I would like to opt out of the network.
This also finds your iPhone and iPad even when they are offline. It’s not new.
 
Your phone doesn’t need to “take advantage of other people participating” as it will use its own cellular connection and gps.

Starting with iOS 13 iPhones use both Find My Phone which is the legacy method AND The Find My Network which relies on other iOS devices to act as beacons. Obviously the Find My Network is much more useful, but users have a choice to turn it off or not
 
I don't think it is selfish. The OP has he or her reasons and they don't have to be validated by us.
no...seeing as how find my iphone doesn't rely on other devices...I lost my phone mountain biking in the woods yesterday, luckily was able to find it using find my iphone and pinpoint where it was. No thanks to any other devices.
 
I’m really curious what is the hesitation around this, but no one who opposes it will give any hint of why. I’d wager the majority have been running Find My Network with no issues, so what’s changed now.
I could see some people wanting to disable it so they don't accidentally send the position of a device they stole to its owner...
 
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I have been unable to find any information on whether “find my network” works with all iPhone models including older ones (such as 8 or se2020) or not.

When I say “works” I mean both ways, i.e. to find your own OFFLINE phone and to relay information about other phones.
Surely this must rely on some specific, always on, hardware?

EDIT: I think I have found the answer, as in Bluetooth being always on.
 
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