With Apple’s Find My app on iPhone, iPad, and Mac, you can track the location of a lost phone, find missing luggage with an AirTag, or keep tabs on close friends and family members (with permission). We recommend you keep it on for those reasons, but there are times when you’ll need to shut it off.
Perhaps you’re selling your device and need to disconnect it from your Apple ID before wiping it. Maybe you just want to purge your device of the services (and people) who can track your location. Whatever the reason, you can shut down the Find My app in a few easy steps.
Turn Off Find My Services
If you need to quickly shut everything down, including location and device tracking, head to Settings > [your name] > Find My > Find My iPhone. Tap the switch next to Find My iPhone, then enter your Apple ID password to disable the service. For iPad users, the instructions are the same but the options will say Find My iPad instead.
You should notice two other options on this screen. Find My network, which will allow your device to be tracked even when it’s offline. Send Last Location will automatically send your location when the battery is low. If you don’t want to turn everything off, you can instead turn one or both of these options off to minimize when your location is tracked.
Remove Individual Devices
There are several ways to remove a specific device from the Find My app. On mobile, open Settings and tap your name. Scroll down to view the different devices, select the one you wish to remove, then select Remove from Account to disconnect it from your Apple ID. You can also remove devices from the Find My app under the Devices tab. Tap a device and select Remove This Device from the pop-up menu to disconnect it from your account.
Another way to do this is from the iCloud website, where you select Find iPhone, click your name in the right-hand corner and choose Account Settings. Select the device from the My Devices section and click Remove.
Mac users who have Find My set up can go to System Preferences > Apple ID and click Options next to Find My Mac. You can then turn off Find My Mac and Find My network.
Turn Off Location Sharing
If you want some privacy, there are a few ways to stop sharing your location with other users. You can also choose to stop sharing it with everyone or just specific people. The easiest way is to open the Find My app and select the Me tab. Turn off Share My Location to prevent people from knowing where you are.
For individual people, open the People tab and select a specific contact. You can then choose Stop Sharing My Location to hide yourself from them, or choose Remove Friend to delete them completely.
If you’re on a Mac, you can turn off location tracking under System Preferences > Security & Privacy > Location Services. Click the lock icon to make changes, enter your user password, and then uncheck the box next to Find My. Click the lock again to save the change.
