You can locate another iPhone through Find My iPhone if the person has shared their location with you or added you as a trusted contact
Find My iPhone works in two main ways to show you another person's device. The first requires that person to have turned on location sharing in their own Find My app and explicitly shared their location with you. The second applies if you are a family organizer in Family Sharing — you can see the location of any family member who has not turned off location visibility. A third scenario exists if you know the Apple ID and password of the iPhone's owner, but this should only happen with devices you own or have explicit permission to track.
The actual steps depend on which of these situations matches your situation. If someone has shared their location with you voluntarily, the process takes about two minutes. If you are trying to locate a device without the owner's knowledge or consent, Find My iPhone will not help you — Apple designed the system to prevent that.
Key Takeaways
- Location sharing in Find My requires the other person to turn it on and select you by name — it does not happen automatically even in Family Sharing.
- If a family member has shared their location with you, their device appears as a person icon in the Find My app, not as a device icon.
- You can only see another person's iPhone location if they have explicitly enabled location sharing or if you are a Family Sharing organizer and they have not disabled location visibility.
- If location sharing is turned off or the person has removed you from their shared contacts, you will see "Location Not Available" in the Find My app.
How to see a shared location in Find My on your own iPhone
Open the Find My app on your iPhone and tap the People tab at the bottom of the screen. This tab shows anyone who has shared their location with you. If the person you are looking for appears in this list, tap their name. Their location will appear on a map, along with their current address and how long ago the location was updated.
If the person does not appear in the People tab, they have not shared their location with you. You will need to ask them to do so. They can share their location by opening their own Find My app, tapping the People tab, tapping the plus sign, entering your name or phone number, and selecting how long to share (options include "Until End of Day" or "Always").
How to see family member locations if you are a Family Sharing organizer
If you set up Family Sharing on your family's devices, you have the ability to see where family members are located — but only if they have not turned off location visibility. Open Find My, tap the People tab, and look for family members listed there. Their location appears the same way as any other shared location.
Family members can hide their location from you by opening Settings, tapping their name, selecting Family, and turning off "Share My Location." If a family member has done this, you will not see their location in Find My, even though you are a Family Sharing organizer. This is by design — Apple allows individual family members to opt out of location sharing.
What to do if you see "Location Not Available"
This message appears when someone has stopped sharing their location with you, turned off location services entirely, or their device is powered off. It can also appear if their device has no cellular or Wi-Fi connection. You cannot force location sharing to turn back on from your end.
If you need to locate the device and the person is not responding, your only option is to contact them directly and ask them to turn location sharing back on. If this is a child's device and you are the parent, check your Family Sharing settings to confirm location visibility is enabled on their end.
Finding a device you own through iCloud.com
If you are trying to locate an iPhone that belongs to you but you do not have it with you, go to iCloud.com in a web browser, sign in with your Apple ID, and click Find My iPhone. This shows all devices registered to your Apple ID. You can see their locations on a map, play a sound on the device, lock it remotely, or erase it.
This method works only for devices you own or have set up with your own Apple ID. You cannot use iCloud.com to locate someone else's iPhone unless you know their Apple ID and password — and doing so without their permission is illegal in most places.
The difference between finding a person and finding a device
Find My has two separate tabs: People and Devices. The People tab shows the location of people who have shared their location with you. The Devices tab shows the location of iPhones, iPads, Macs, and Apple Watches that are registered to your Apple ID. These are not the same thing.
If you want to find another person's iPhone, that person must appear in your People tab — meaning they have shared their location with you. If you want to find a device, it must be registered to your Apple ID. You cannot use the Devices tab to locate someone else's phone, and you cannot use the People tab to locate a device that is not registered to your account.
Privacy and consent when locating another iPhone
Apple's Find My system requires active consent from the person being located. They must turn on location sharing and select you by name. This design prevents one person from secretly tracking another. If someone asks you to stop sharing your location, you can turn it off immediately in your Find My settings, and they will no longer see where you are.
If you are trying to locate a child's device, Family Sharing allows you to see their location without their explicit consent — but they can still turn off location visibility in their settings. If you are trying to locate an adult's device without their knowledge, Find My will not help you do that.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I find someone's iPhone if they have not shared their location with me?
No. Find My requires the other person to turn on location sharing and add you as a trusted contact. If they have not done this, you cannot see their location through Find My. You would need to ask them to share their location first.
What if someone stops sharing their location with me?
You will see "Location Not Available" in the Find My app. They have either turned off location sharing, removed you from their trusted contacts, or turned off location services on their device. You cannot override this — you would need to ask them to share their location again.
Can I track my child's iPhone through Find My if they turn off location sharing?
No. Even as a parent with Family Sharing set up, your child can disable location visibility in their settings. If they do, you will not see their location in Find My. Some parents use Screen Time restrictions to prevent children from turning this off, but the child can still disable it if they know how.
Is there a way to find an iPhone without the owner knowing?
No. Find My is designed to prevent secret tracking. Location sharing requires active consent, and the person being located can turn it off at any time. If you need to locate a device you own, you can use iCloud.com with your own Apple ID, but you cannot use Find My to track someone else without their knowledge.
Why does Find My show "Location Not Available" even though the person's phone is on?
This usually means their device has no internet connection, location services are turned off, or they have disabled location sharing with you. It can also happen if their location data has not updated recently. Ask them to check that Wi-Fi or cellular is on and that location sharing is still enabled in their Find My settings.