How it works
When you join a family, you'll be asked if you want to share your location with your family members. If you agree:
- Your location might appear in Find My Friends and Messages on family members’ devices if they use iOS 8 or later.
- The location of your shared devices will appear on family members’ devices in Find My iPhone. You can choose which device you want to share your location from.
If your family members agree, you can see their location in the apps on your devices.
Choose when to share
When you join a family, you can choose whether or not you want to share your location.
To see if you're sharing, go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Share My Location. On iOS 10.2 or earlier, go to Settings > iCloud > Share My Location.
To choose a family member to share your location with, tap their name.
To stop sharing your location, turn off Share My Location. This hides your location from all of your family members and your approved friends.
Choose which device to share your location from
By default, the device that you used to sign in to Family Sharing is the one that shares your location. If you want to share your location from a different device:
- Go to Settings > [your name] > iCloud > Share My Location. On iOS 10.2 or earlier, go to Settings > iCloud > Share My Location.
- Tap From.
- Select which device you want to share from.
Use location sharing with Find My iPhone
If you join Family Sharing and choose to share your location with family members, they can find and secure a missing device for you.
If you turned on Find My iPhone on your missing device, a family member can help you:
- See the location and online or offline status of your device.
- Play a sound on your missing device to help you find it.
- Put your device in Lost Mode if it was already set up with a passcode.
If you don't share your location, family members can’t access location information about your devices. Without location information, family members can still help you. They can check your missing device's online or offline status, play a sound on the device, or put the device in Lost Mode.
Some features might not be available in all countries or regions due to technical limitations or local law.