Find My & Privacy

• When you sign in to iCloud with your Apple ID, you will enable certain Find My features on supported devices, including participation in the Find My network.
• The location of your device or accessory, as well as information about your device and your account, may be used to help you locate your Find My–enabled devices and supported accessories.
• The Find My network uses end-to-end encryption so that Apple cannot see the location of any offline device or reporting device.

If you lose or misplace your Find My–enabled iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, iPod touch or Mac, Find My allows you to locate your device on a map. In addition, Find My allows you to play a sound on, remotely lock and display a message on, or remotely wipe the device you’re trying to find. Find My can also help you locate or play a sound on supported accessories.

When you sign in and enable iCloud on your device, certain features of Find My are enabled automatically. These include participation in the Find My network, a crowdsourced network of Apple devices that helps find missing devices or compatible items as described below, and the ability to play a sound on your device, remotely lock and display a message on it, or remotely erase it. You will also receive notifications if you are separated from your supported devices and items. Your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Apple Watch and certain Macs will be protected with Activation Lock, and cannot be erased and reactivated without your password. For more information, visit support.apple.com/kb/HT208987. Enabling Find My on your iPhone will automatically enable it on any paired Apple Watch. You can also separately enable Find My for an Apple Watch, which will enable it on your paired iPhone.

When you use Find My, your device’s location, as well as information about your device and your account, will be sent to and retained by Apple so we can provide you with the service. Your device’s location is sent to Apple only if you, or a Family Sharing group member you have chosen to share your device’s location with, actively request the location of a device or accessory. Apple retains location information and makes it accessible to you for 24 hours, after which it is deleted. When you have Location Services enabled, you can also choose to share your device’s current location using Share My Location. If you use this feature and both the device used for your location and the friend’s device you are sharing your location with are using iOS 15 or later, your location will be updated automatically using end-to-end encryption. When the device used for your location or your friend’s device is using an earlier operating system version, your location is sent to Apple if it is actively requested by a friend you are sharing with, and is retained for two hours, after which it is deleted. Share My Location is enabled only when you actively choose to share your location with someone else.

Find My can help you locate your devices on a map if you have enabled Location Services. If you choose to enable the Send Last Location feature, your device’s last known location will be automatically sent to Apple any time your device’s battery reaches a critically low level.

Find My can use the Find My network to help find devices even if they are not connected to the internet and, for supported devices, even if they are turned off or erased. Devices in the Find My network use Bluetooth wireless technology to detect missing devices or compatible items nearby, including AirTags and compatible third-party products registered to your Apple ID, and report their approximate location back to the owner. If a device is turned off or erased, that location is also visible to members of the owner’s Family Sharing group with whom they have chosen to share the location. The interaction is end-to-end encrypted, and Apple cannot see the location of any offline device or reporting device. When your device participates in the Find My network, it can both be located by the network and anonymously help locate other missing devices. You can choose to have your iOS or iPadOS device not participate in the Find My network by going to Settings > [your name] > Find My > Find My [device] and tapping to disable Find My network. You can choose to have your Mac not participate in the Find My network by going to System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud, clicking Options next to Find My Mac and turning off Find My network. For more information on AirTags and compatible third-party products, including instructions on adding these products to Find My and registering them to your Apple ID, visit support.apple.com/kb/HT211331.

You can turn off Find My and Activation Lock on your iOS or iPadOS device by going to Settings > [your name] > Find My > Find My [device], and tapping to turn off Find My iPhone or Find My iPad, and on your Mac by going to System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud and deselecting Find My Mac in the list of Apps on this Mac using iCloud.

If you choose to receive notifications when you are separated from supported devices and items, your device will suggest locations where you will not receive notifications, such as your home or work. These locations are stored in a way that cannot be read by Apple. You can also turn off separation notifications in the Find My app on iOS or iPadOS by tapping Devices or Items, tapping a device or item, tapping Notify When Left Behind, then tapping to turn off Notify When Left Behind. In the Find My app on a Mac, click Devices or Items, select a device or item, click the Info button on the device or item, then turn off Notify When Left Behind.

At all times, information collected by Apple will be treated in accordance with Apple’s Privacy Policy, which can be found at www.apple.com/uk/privacy