Find My and safety
Share My Location
Most people call this letting specific people see where you are.
You can share your live location with chosen people indefinitely or for a set period, and stop at any time.
This setting is present on your iPhone.
- We have this path on file but have not yet confirmed it against an official source.
Where to find it - iOS 16 and later
- Settings
- Apple Account
- Find My
- Share My Location
What it does
Sharing is per person and can be for one hour, until the end of the day, or indefinitely. The person is told when you stop. Which device reports your location is also chosen here.
What changes
When it is on
Chosen people can see your location in Find My and in Messages.
When it is off
Nobody can see where you are.
Should you turn it on?
Good reasons to turn it on
- Family can see you got home safely.
- Time limited sharing covers a single journey.
Good reasons to turn it off
- Indefinite sharing is easy to set up and easy to forget.
- Review it periodically, especially after a relationship ends.
Battery
Costs you something
Privacy
Costs you something
Performance
No real change
Cellular data
No real change
Storage
No real change
Out of the box: Off until you share with someone.
Worth reading first
Questions people actually ask
- Who can see my location?
- Open Find My, then the People tab, or use Safety Check under Privacy and Security for the full list.
If it is not working
- Safety Check lists everyone you share with in one place and can stop all of it at once.
- Prefer one hour or end of day over indefinite sharing.
- The person is notified when you stop sharing.