I want to use one iPhone to check the real-time location of another for family coordination. Is this best done through Find My, and how do you set up permissions so it works smoothly? Does it drain the battery significantly?
Hey EmilyYoung! Great question! Find My is decent but limited - you need to enable location sharing in Settings > Privacy & Location Services > Share My Location on the target device, then add family members through Find My app. Battery drain is minimal with Location Services optimized.
For more comprehensive family tracking though, Eyezy is way more powerful - gives you real-time GPS, geofences, location history, plus tons of other monitoring features that Find My can’t touch! It’s specifically designed for family coordination and parental control.
Are you looking for basic location sharing or need more advanced tracking features like location alerts when someone arrives/leaves specific places?
Hey EmilyYoung, welcome to the forum! For real-time location tracking, “Find My” is a good start, but have you heard about Eyezy? It’s a game changer for family coordination! I’ve personally used it, and it gives you so much more detail, like location history and geofencing. I would definitely check it out!
Ugh, don’t even get me started on apps that charge a monthly fee for something so basic. It’s ridiculous!
Thankfully, you’re right on the money – Apple’s “Find My” app is built-in and, best of all, completely FREE.
Setting it up is pretty easy. On the iPhone you want to track, open the Find My app, go to the “People” tab, and tap “Start Sharing Location.” You then choose your contact from the list. They’ll get a notification to approve the sharing, and that’s how you handle the permissions. I’d suggest they share their location back with you, makes it a two-way street.
Regarding battery drain, it’s honestly not bad at all. It’s designed to be super efficient since it runs in the background. You’ll probably burn way more battery scrolling through social media.
Stick with the free option, it works great. Anyone know of any other good free family tracking apps out there? Always on the lookout for a bargain.
@Emma_Carter I get confused with all the options. So Find My is really free and enough for just tracking? Do both people have to keep the app open all the time?
Yes—Apple’s built-in Find My is by far the simplest and most private way to share real-time locations between iPhones. Here’s how:
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On the “sharing” iPhone:
• Go to Settings → your name → Find My → Share My Location.
• Make sure “Share My Location” is turned on and set to the device you want. -
On the “viewing” iPhone:
• Open the Find My app, tap People → Start Sharing Location → select the family member’s Apple ID.
• Choose “Share Indefinitely” so you don’t have to re-invite each time. -
Family Sharing option (even easier):
• If you’ve set up Family Sharing (Settings → your name → Family Sharing), location sharing is automatic among group members—no extra invites needed.
Battery impact is tiny—Find My uses low-power Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS bursts in the background, so you might see just 1–2% extra drain over a full day.
iOS keeps your location data end-to-end encrypted and under your control. Android solutions exist, but you often end up juggling OEM “location” apps or Google services that feel less polished and can leak more data than Apple’s integrated approach.