Apple’s Find My service enables you to locate your iPhone when you leave it behind, locate family members, or to track your device down when it’s stolen.
There are obvious privacy concerns with this, of course. Thankfully, Apple makes it easy to deactivate Find My iPhone, either direct from your iPhone or remotely through iCloud.com from any device with a web browser (such as a Mac or PC).
Here’s how to turn off Find My iPhone.
What we used
- We used the iPhone 13 Pro, but these methods will work on any iPhone
- For the remote method we used a MacBook Pro (2019), but any device with a web browser will suffice
The Short Version
- Turn off Find My iPhone directly
- Turn off Find My iPhone remotely
Step
1Turn off Find My iPhone directly
To turn off Find My iPhone from your iPhone, first enter the Settings app. Now tap your Apple ID at the very top of the screen, followed by Find My.
Now tap Find My iPhone at the top of the next screen. Tap the Find My iPhone toggle, then authenticate your Apple ID Password, to turn Find My iPhone off. You should receive an email confirming that this has taken place.Step
2Turn off Find My iPhone remotely
To turn off Find My iPhone from another device, open the web browser and head to www.iCloud.com. Sign in using your Apple ID.
Click on Find iPhone and sign in again when requested. Click on your iPhone on the ensuing map, or select it from the central device drop-down menu. Now click the ‘i’ button, followed by Remove from Account.
Note that the Remove from Account option will only present itself when your iPhone is offline. Also note that the device will reappear in this list if it has Activation Lock turned on, which can be an issue if you’ve sold or given away your iPhone without completely erasing it.
To remotely remove your iPhone from Find My altogether, follow the above Step 2 guidelines, but rather than Remove from Account select Erase iPhone. The device will be erased when it next comes online, at which point you will be sent an email notification.
Now click Remove from Account.
FAQs
Follow Step 2 to sign into Find My remotely and select your iPhone, then select Lost Mode. This will lock your iPhone’s screen with a passcode, disable Apple Pay, and enable you to add a custom message together with your phone number.
Probably not, as you will lose the ability to track your iPhone. Also note that if you have AppleCare+ with Theft and Loss, you should report the loss and wait for your claim to be approved before erasing your iPhone.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
