How the 'Find My' App in iOS 13 and macOS Catalina Works

[blackcrayon]

Sounds quite creepy and open to abuse

Quite open to abuse? Would you like to explain how? I mean, is your Apple ID password quite open to anyone easily abusing it? Public/Private key encryption isn't easily defeated if done properly. Or some people would have a whole lot of other people's cryptocurrency

 

[realtuner]

Really hope both require a password or some sort of authentication to disable honestly.

Apple could make Bluetooth for location tracking on regardless of whether you turn Bluetooth OFF in Settings. Since it uses next to no power there’s no need to completely disable Bluetooth. It would just disable the ability to find and pair with the usual Bluetooth accessories.

 

[TrenttonY]

Should've been named 'Find'. 'Find My' sounds weird and unnecessary.

 

[adrianlondon]

My understanding is that from the control panel you can't turn bluetooth off. All you can do is click the icon to disconnect most devices. Stuff such as keyboards, apple watch etc. keep working.

However, if you turn bluetooth off in settings (which is reachable now from the control panel but requires the phone to be unlocked) then I assume this would disable this new Find thing.

 

[AppleLuvver]

Will this also work for AirPods?

 

[Braderunner]

so that's why you don't turn Bluetooth off. But for argument's sake, say, to save battery life, you turned off Bluetooth, then FindMy won't find Jack

Most likely, for arguments sake, someone with an  device, that has Bluetooth turned on, will be near your lost/stolen device. And, for arguments sake, you don’t turn your Bluetooth off, because you are able to be responsible enough to charge your device.

 

[boccabella]

Buy a second iOS device so you can track the first one if it gets lost or stolen. Yeah, that makes sense.

 

[Itinj24]

Extremely disappointed that this app isn’t available on WatchOS. I own an iPad, a MacBook Pro, an Apple Watch and an iPhone. The only two devices I carry on a daily basis are the phone and the watch. If I lose my phone, now I have to wait till I get home to my Mac or iPad before I can start the search and rescue? Stolen property is very time sensitive. Of all the portable Apple devices, the Watch is the one device least likely to be stolen or left behind. What about those that carry a handbag and keep all their devices in there and that comes up missing? Can’t even get a notification for when the phone breaks Bluetooth connection with the watch. Should’ve been there on day one.

I use Find Friends on the Watch all the time. Was really hoping to get Find My iPhone on it too some day. When I heard they were merging, was pretty confident that I’d get the best of both worlds on the watch. Now it looks like I’m losing Find Friends on top of it.

Rant over.

 

[jonnysods]

I have to say this was the most exciting WWDC in a long time. Huge leaps forward across the board.

 

[Ivanovitchk]

Downloads iOS 13.

Immediately removes ability to access Control Center from lock screen.

This will rule out the possibility for thieves to steal my iPhone and simply swipe up disable Bluetooth. Hell, I have it disabled now so they can’t turn on Airplane Mode.

which doesn’t prevents the thief to power off the phone... apple needs to give us the option to disallow shutdown from the lockscreen...

unless the phone keeps advertising on Bluetooth even when powered off ...

 

[ignatius345]

So... if you want to steal a MacBook, wrap it in foil?
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Regarding "Find My", I used to be able to sign in to my kids accounts in Find My iPhone to see where their device is, but I don't see that capability now. Do they have to share their location now that Find My Friends is combined with Find My iPhone?

I believe that if your kids' devices are listed as part of your Family Sharing setup, you should be able to see their location so long as the settings on their devices are set to share it, if that makes sense.

Also, Find My Friends and Find My iPhone are not yet merged under iOS 12. That's coming later with iOS 13.

 

[gnomeisland]

Extremely disappointed that this app isn’t available on WatchOS. I own an iPad, a MacBook Pro, an Apple Watch and an iPhone. The only two devices I carry on a daily basis are the phone and the watch. If I lose my phone, now I have to wait till I get home to my Mac or iPad before I can start the search and rescue? Stolen property is very time sensitive. Of all the portable Apple devices, the Watch is the one device least likely to be stolen or left behind. What about those that carry a handbag and keep all their devices in there and that comes up missing? Can’t even get a notification for when the phone breaks Bluetooth connection with the watch. Should’ve been there on day one.

I use Find Friends on the Watch all the time. Was really hoping to get Find My iPhone on it too some day. When I heard they were merging, was pretty confident that I’d get the best of both worlds on the watch. Now it looks like I’m losing Find Friends on top of it.

Rant over.

Do we know that it won't be on the watch? or just that it wasn't explicitly shown on the watch? There was a LOT announced and a number of would-have-been-killer-features-last-year that escaped prime time because there was too much to show. This could be one reason why Watch OS 6 requires a newer iPhone than Watch OS 5.

 

[roadkill401]

Ok. Call me confused. But I gather this is going to kill of find my friends, and basically the new system will require everyone to be on ios13 to work. So if your using an iPhone 6 or earlier, you now loose the find my friend as you can’t load ios13, and likewise everyone with ios13 can’t see anyone who is not.

My wife has an iPhone SE but never upgraded the iOS. It runs fanstastic, fast, doesn’t crash and also don’t blast those emergency alerts amber alerts for some lost kid when you are sleeping. My daughter has an iPhone 7 and I have an iPad Air from 2014. We also have an older Mac mini running Sierra. I use find my friends to see when my daughter is coming home from school or my wife home from work. Helps me figure out when to make supper. Now from what I read as each person only has a single device that nobody can find anything? This is a step backwards.

 

[macduke]

How do I install this technology on my child? I worry a lot about child sex trafficking. They busted a ring of it in my city not long ago. They had children having sex for money in this seedy motel. Horrifying. Can’t wait for this kind of technology to be miniaturized into a ring, or maybe even sewn into the sole of a shoe and powered kinetically by walking. To be clear, I don’t want to be a helicopter parent, but my daughter is 5 and just starting school. When I was a kid we could wander all over, and I want that for her, but we also didn’t have sex trafficking like this in small and medium sized towns. I’ve been trying to teach her stranger danger, but she gets really freaked out when I talk with her about it. I try to explain that most people are good, but she still gets scared about the bad people. It doesn’t help that I hardly ever see kids playing outside in our neighborhood, which is in a fairly nice part of town. Kids are safer in numbers and the numbers just aren’t there any more. As a kid I could go out in the evening in the summer and play a massive game of hide and seek with 20 kids about any time I wanted to. That was only in the 90s.

 

[timborama]

Buy a second iOS device so you can track the first one if it gets lost or stolen. Yeah, that makes sense.

And requires 2FA, f that. Hopefully “Find My” classic still works.

 

[Itinj24]

Do we know that it won't be on the watch? or just that it wasn't explicitly shown on the watch? There was a LOT announced and a number of would-have-been-killer-features-last-year that escaped prime time because there was too much to show. This could be one reason why Watch OS 6 requires a newer iPhone than Watch OS 5.

Every article I read, and I’m sure I read them all, as well as the WWDC presentation only say iOS and MacOS (assuming iOS and iPadOS are being lumped together). Asked someone on the WatchOS beta and they haven’t seen it on there either. I upgrade my (smaller) devices, iPhone and watch, yearly and I’m still holding out hope that this will be available on the AW S5. Maybe the S4 cant handle an app like this. I haven’t a clue. Still hoping though...

Funny thing is, I have not come across a website that I couldn’t view on the AW... except for Find My iPhone lol. Tried a work around by emailing myself the web link to Find My Phone and it just would not open on the AW. Almost like it was done on purpose. We have Find Friends, Maps and several other third party watch apps that use a map. Just doesn’t make sense.

 

[macfacts]

Thieves don't need to turn off the Bluetooth to hide. They can use a Faraday cage bag or a metal box.

 

[JosephAW]

I'm assuming this can be disabled for both the source device and listening devices.

 

[burgman]

Buy a second iOS device so you can track the first one if it gets lost or stolen. Yeah, that makes sense.

The wired Article has more detail, including its beta with changes likely. Though people with one Mac or iOS device must be able to use some version.

 

[newyorksole]

I’m very good with technology, but things seem to just be getting more and more confusing. I thought this new Find My was cool until I read some of these comments.

I just want to be able to see where my friends/family are and track my devices if they’re lost. Seems more complicated and weird now.

 

[KeepCalmPeople]

Should've been named 'Find'. 'Find My' sounds weird and unnecessary.

Just call it “Where’s My Stuff?” Or “That’s Mine”
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I’m very good with technology, but things seem to just be getting more and more confusing. I thought this new Find My was cool until I read some of these comments.

I just want to be able to see where my friends/family are and track my devices if they’re lost. Seems more complicated and weird now.

I don’t think it changes that at all. The difference is that now you’ll be able to see where your phone is even if it’s turned off. I expect FMF will not show you somebody if their primary device is turned off.

 

[newyorksole]

Just call it “Where’s My Stuff?” Or “That’s Mine”
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I don’t think it changes that at all. The difference is that now you’ll be able to see where your phone is even if it’s turned off. I expect FMF will not show you somebody if their primary device is turned off.

Ok that makes sense.

 

[fokmik]

So this is how i tested. Even if i turn my bt to my mac or ipad off,when you go to find my and press lost ,lets say my mac, that device auto turn BT on !
It is a brilliant thing. I think Apple worked on this because they I tired to have their apple stores assault by thieves

 

[scrapesleon]

Good best feature been waiting for this for years

 

[Anonymous Freak]

As someone who works in computer security, the announcement scared the bejeezus out of me. But reading this more detailed technical description, my worries are a bit allayed. I'll have to read more when it gets closer and more details come out - and test it out thoroughly, but from at least this little bit, it looks like it has the real possibility to be solid.