How To Get Location On Iphone

You can track an iPhone's location as long as its Location Services feature is enabled.
If you lose your iPhone, you can log into iCloud's Find My iPhone webpage and see its location if you have Location Services turned on.
If a friend or family member shares their location with you through the Messages app, you can track their location using the Find My app on your iPhone.
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Thanks to the Find My app on your iPhone, you can track your own phone, which is handy if it's lost or stolen. But you can also track other people's iPhones as well, as long as they opt in and give you permission.

Using the Find My app, you can keep tabs on your kids or easily stay connected with friends and family. For privacy and security, though, these features need to be turned on before you can start tracking people.

How to turn on location services on your iPhone

If you want to be able to track your own iPhone or let other people track you, first make sure Location Services are enabled.

1. Start the Settings app and then tap "Privacy."

2. Tap "Location Services."

3. On the Location Services page, ensure it's turned on by swiping the button to the right.

Turn on Location Services so you can track your own iPhone.

4. You can fine-tune the way Location Services works by controlling the permission of specific apps in the list at the bottom of the page. You can enable or disable permission and specify when the app is allowed to see your location.

How to track your own iPhone's location

You can see where your phone is located from iCloud's Find My iPhone webpage.

1. Open the Find My iPhone website in a browser. You will probably need to log into your iCloud account using your Apple ID.

2. Click "All Devices" at the top of the page.

3. Click the entry for your iPhone in the dropdown menu.

Use the Find My iPhone website to find a lost iPhone.

You can also track your phone using the Find My app on another device signed into the same Apple ID, such as an iPad.

How to track the location of someone else's iPhone

You can use your iPhone's Find My app to see where friends and family are located as long as they share their location with you. Here's what you and anyone sharing their location with you need to do:

1. The person sharing their location with you should open their Messages app and open a conversation with you.

2. They should tap your name at the top of the screen and then tap "info."

3. Next, they should tap "Share My Location" and then, in the dropdown menu, choose how long to share this information — an hour, until the end of the day, or indefinitely.

You can share your location with a friend using the Messages app.

4. After they've shared their location, you can start the Find My app on your phone. You should see the person's entry in the "People" section at the bottom of the screen. Tap it to see the location on the map.

See where one of your contacts is located using the Find My app, as long as they have allowed you to see their location.

Related coverage from Tech Reference:

Find My Friends is just called 'Find My' in iOS 13 — here's how to access and use it on your iPhone
How to use the Find My iPhone feature for a Mac, to locate your computer if it's lost or stolen
How to add a device to Find My iPhone to track the location of your iPhone, iPad, or Mac computer
How to find your Apple Watch if it's been lost or stolen
How to turn off the 'Find My' feature on your iPhone, and what will happen when you do

Dave Johnson

Freelance Writer

Dave Johnson is a technology journalist who writes about consumer tech and how the industry is transforming the speculative world of science fiction into modern-day real life. Dave grew up in New Jersey before entering the Air Force to operate satellites, teach space operations, and do space launch planning. He then spent eight years as a content lead on the Windows team at Microsoft. As a photographer, Dave has photographed wolves in their natural environment; he's also a scuba instructor and co-host of several podcasts. Dave is the author of more than two dozen books and has contributed to many sites and publications including CNET, Forbes, PC World, How To Geek, and Insider.