macformat.com @macformatFind My app APPLE SKILLS
DECEMBER 2019 | MACFORMAT | 43HOW TO Find your devices and friends
1
Find yourself
The Find My app looks more or less
identical on Mac, iPhone and iPad; it’s
effectively Apple’s Maps. If you haven’t
previously enabled location sharing,
you’ll be prompted to do so the first
time you run the app.2
Set your sharing
Tap the Me icon to adjust the
settings that say whether other people
can find your location. You can also
rename your location to something
that’s easier to remember such as
home, gym, school or work.3
See your stuff
If you tap on the second tab,
Devices, you’ll see a list of all the devices
that are connected to your iCloud
account; if you have Family Sharing it’ll
also show your family members’ devices
here. Tap on a device to see where it is.4
Look for someone
As you’d expect, tapping on People
gives you a list of people who share their
locations with you and shows them on
the map. Once again, family members
you’re connected to via Family
Sharing will appear here automatically.5
See where they are
As with Find My Friends, Find My will
show you someone’s location or their last
known location if they’re offline. You can
use the map like any other one, switching
between map, hybrid and satellite views
or just zooming in.6
Locate your device
Find My works in exactly the same
way for devices. Select the Devices tab
and tap or click on a device to see its
current or last known location. Once
you’ve done that, tap or click on the
little ‘i’ icon to make things happen.7
Raise the alarm
You can now get the device to do
something: to play a sound you can hear
if it’s fallen down the side of the sofa, to
get directions to it, to notify you when it
comes back online or to erase it remotely
if you think it’s lost or stolen.8
Delete a device
If, like us, your family has owned
plenty of Apple devices, your device list
may well include several devices you
don’t have any more. No problem. Just
select the device you want to remove
and once again select the little ‘i’.9
Confirm the deletion
Don’t remove a device if it still
belongs to you, though! Find My is a
key anti-theft feature, and by turning
off Find My on a device that’s still yours,
you’re making it possible for someone
else to activate and use it.