Apple's New 'Find My' App for macOS and iOS Can Find Your Devices Even When They're Offline

Monday June 3, 2019 11:58 AM PDT by Mitchel Broussard
Apple's "Find My Friends" app is being revamped in macOS Catalina and iOS 13, and will now be called simply "Find My." The new version of the app combines Find My iPhone and Find My Friends.


The major feature of the updated app is that it can now locate Apple devices that are offline, making it even easier to find your iPhone or MacBook if you ever happen to lose it.

Apple said that when a device is offline and sleeping, it sends out a secure Bluetooth beacon that can be detected by other Apple devices nearby, even the ones owned by other people. This results in a network that works to find lost Apple devices through a secure, encrypted, and anonymous signal relay.

Tag: WWDC 2019
22 comments


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d5aqoëp
1 hour ago at 12:04 pm
This feature gets a thumbs up from me.
Rating: 8 Votes
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NickName99
1 hour ago at 12:08 pm
Wow, this is a really powerful feature. I definitely wouldn’t trust it from anyone but Apple; implemented carelessly, it could potentially lead to offline device hacking.
Rating: 7 Votes
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benshive
1 hour ago at 12:02 pm

Creepy

Not really. I think it's really cool. Just taking advantage of the fact that you're probably always within a few feet of another iPhone.
Rating: 7 Votes
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Codpeace
1 hour ago at 12:06 pm
This is super cool! Wow...
Rating: 4 Votes
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r98266
1 hour ago at 12:01 pm
Creepy
Rating: 4 Votes
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ASFx
55 minutes ago at 12:28 pm

What kind of battery drainage should we expect from a constant Bluetooth signal being emitted? Just curious.....

Bluetooth is an extremely low power tech. if it's anything like the power consumption used on the Tile devices, it will be completely unnoticeable. Tiles run on a single small battery for over a year.
Rating: 3 Votes
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chscag
1 hour ago at 12:07 pm
Law enforcement is going to love this. :eek:
Rating: 2 Votes
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Codpeace
1 hour ago at 12:19 pm

Law enforcement is going to love this. :eek:

Well, maybe, and I will certainly want to learn more about the privacy protections built into the system. Among other things, I would imagine you can turn it on upon your need for it arising -- there should be a way to do this remotely through an Apple account based on the registered ID of your device's BT hardware.

But for sure: consumers are going to love it. Find My "X" helped me find my brand-new iPad a few years back after I had carelessly forgotten it in the rush to exit a cab.
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So how long does apple keep this data they have when constantly tracking you?

They really shouldn't ever need to have any of it ever. Or if they do, there should be a key entirely private to the device's owner. These seem like simple matters to engineer.
Rating: 1 Votes
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Awsaim
56 minutes ago at 12:28 pm
Can’t wait to see how this works.
Rating: 1 Votes
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ASFx
57 minutes ago at 12:27 pm
Apple is doing something very similar to what Tile does. I think this is a great feature. I've already got a tile in my bags and wallet, etc. So now that the same features will be built right in, I won't have to carry around my Tiles anymore
Rating: 1 Votes
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