How to see someone’s location on Find My iPhone

How to see someone’s location on Find My iPhone. Viewing real-time location on iPhone makes it easy to meet people in new places, track loved ones out for a night out or hike, direct people to unfamiliar areas, etc. If the other person also has an iPhone, you can follow them with Latitude, Messages, and Apple Maps. If they’re on an Android device, you can use cross-platform apps like Google Maps and WhatsApp to see their location.

How to see someone's location on Find My iPhone
How to see someone’s location on Find My iPhone

Use Find My

Find My app on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad is the easiest way to track friends, colleagues, and family with Apple devices. It works by syncing location data through your iCloud account.

Starting with iOS 13, Find My app includes the old Find My iPhone app and the Find My Friends app.

Just ask the other person:

1. Open the Find My app on your iOS or iPadOS device If location services are disabled, they will open the “Settings” app, go to “Privacy“>« Location services” and activate the switch next to “Location services‘ before continuing.

2. Go to “People” and tap “Start Transfer” Or ” More » > ” Share Location‘.  

3. Choose your name and click ‘send‘.

4. Choose a duration: ‘Share for an hour’ , ‘Share until end of the day ‘ or ‘Share indefinitely ‘.

5. Click sendYES.

Use Find My

On iPhone, you can:

1. Tap the time-sensitive notification “To Find”.

2. Choose whether to share your location – Share for an hour , Share until the end of the day , Share indefinitely or Don’t share .

3. See the person’s current location in ” People in the Find My app.

You can also tap a person’s name in the People tab to do the following:

  • contact : View the person’s contact card.
  • Directions : Get directions to a person using Apple Maps.
  • Notice . Set up geo-fences. For example, you or someone else can choose to receive notifications when they arrive or leave a particular place.
  • Add [person’s name] to favorites : Mark a person as a favorite so they always appear at the top of the People tab.
  • Change location name : Add a label to one’s location – ” Дом “,” Work “,” Study ” and so on.
  • Share your location / Stop sharing your location : Share or stop sharing your location.
  • Remove [person’s name] : Remove the person from the People tab.

Consulting . If you or someone else is using an Apple Watch, use the Find My People app to manage location sharing.

Use the Messages app to see someone’s location

Another convenient way to check the cell phone location of other iPhone users is to use the Messages app.

Again ask the other person:

1. Open the ‘ Messages ‘ app .

2. Open or create an iMessage conversation with you.

3. Tap your portrait or name icon at the top of the screen.

4. Click ” Start Relocation” .

5. Choose a duration: ‘Share for an hour’ , ‘Share until the end of the day ‘ or ‘Share indefinitely ‘.

Use the Messages app

Users can also share their current location by clicking “Send my current location” scroll 4 .

On your iPhone, you can tap the time-sensitive notification “Find Me” and follow the instructions in the section above to see a person’s location.

1. Open the ” Messages ” app and tap the other person’s iMessage conversation.

2. Tap the person’s name at the top of the screen.

3. See the person’s iPhone location on the mini map.

You can also:

  • Tap “Share your location” to share your location with others.
  • Tap the minimap to enlarge it.
  • Navigate to ” Routes to get directions to a person’s location using Apple Maps.

Use Apple Maps to see someone’s location

You can also check the location of a family member or friend by asking them to share their current location as a link to Apple Maps.

A man must:

1. Open the Apple Maps app.

2. Pull up the handle at the bottom of the screen and click ‘Share location‘.

3. Share the location as a link via text message or email using an app like ‘Messages‘, ‘Mail‘ or ‘WhatsApp‘.

On iPhone, you can:

Tap a link to see someone else’s location in Apple Maps.

You can also:

  • Go to ” Routes ” if you want to get directions to that person’s location.
  • select Добавить в избранное to add the location to your favorites list.

See a person’s location in a family group

If a family member has an iPhone and is part of a family group, simply ask them to:

1. Open the ‘Settings‘ app .

2. Tap on apple ID > ‘Found‘.

3. Tap your name in the Family section.

4. Click “Share your location”.

On iPhone, you can:

Tap the time-sensitive Find My notification and follow the steps in the sections above to see a family member’s location in the Find Me & Messages app.

Use Google Maps to see someone’s location.

If the other person is using an Android device, they can use the built-in Google Maps app to share their location with you. Just don’t forget to install Google Maps via App Store to your iPhone and sign in with your google account. The following method also works between Apple devices and may be useful in areas with poor Apple Maps coverage.

First, ask the other person:

1. Open Google maps .

2. Tap their profile picture and select Share Location .

3. Click “Share Location” or “New Share” .

Use Google Maps
Use Google Maps

4. Specify how long they want to share their location.

5. Select a means of transferring location, such as text message or email.

6. Click submit .

Then on your iPhone:

Tap a link in a text message or email to see the person’s location on Google Maps. Or open Google maps and tap the person’s name on the map.

You can then:

Tap “Share location with [person’s name]” to share your location with others.

Tap ” Routes” to get directions to the other person.

Use WhatsApp to see someone’s location on iPhone

You can also use WhatsApp to see someone’s location (a popular third-party messaging app among Android users). Before you start install WhatsApp on your iPhone and set it up with your phone number.

Then ask the other person:

1. Open WhatsApp and select or create a chat thread with you.

2. Touch the investments icon and select Place .

3. Click Share current location . One can also send current location just by clicking ‘ Send current location ‘.

4. Choose the duration – 15 minutes , 1 hour or 8 hours .

5. Touch the To send icon .

On iPhone, you can:

1. Open WhatsApp .

2. Open a chat thread with that person.

3. Click “View Current Location” to start tracking your location.

Summary – How to see someone’s location on Find My iPhone

Using the Find My app on iPhone is the best way to track other people’s location. But as you’ve seen, you also have other ways to track friends and family, even if they’re not using an Apple device. 

Before we close, it’s worth mentioning that you should refrain from using any methods of tracking people without their knowledge, such as Bluetooth/GPS tracking devices (such as AirTags) or surveillance apps. third-party monitoring violates privacy. Not only is this wrong, it’s illegal in most countries and can get you in a lot of trouble.