Ever need a moment of privacy without raising suspicion? If you're secretly shopping for a holiday gift or planning a surprise party, you might want to temporarily obscure your actual location in Apple's Find My app on your iPhone without completely turning off location sharing.

FindMy Feature
Here's a clever trick that lets you keep sharing enabled while displaying a different location – all by using another Apple device you own.

To hide your actual location, you'll need to own an iPhone and an iPad, or two iPhones or two iPads (i.e. not a Mac) signed in to your Apple Account with Find My enabled. This method works by telling Find My to use a stationary device's location instead of your iPhone's.

Start by leaving the device you want to use as your displayed location (like an iPad) in a convincing spot – perhaps your home or office. Then, take your iPhone and follow these steps:

  1. Open the Find My app and tap the Me tab at the bottom of the screen.
  2. Scroll down to find "Use This iPhone as My Location" and make sure it's toggled off.
    find my

  3. Grab your other Apple device and open Find My.
  4. Tap the Me tab, then select "Use this [device] as My Location."
    find my

  5. Toggle on the switch next to Share My Location. Your shared location will now show where this device is stationed, not where you actually are with your iPhone.
  6. When you're ready to resume normal location sharing, simply return to your iPhone's Find My app and toggle "Use This iPhone as My Location" back on.

Remember that this trick only works as long as your decoy device stays put and powered on. Lastly, we trust that you'll use this tip responsibly – like keeping that upcoming surprise party under wraps!

Top Rated Comments

AhRiHmAn Avatar
14 months ago
« If you're secretly shopping for a holiday gift or planning a surprise party » well sure…??
Score: 59 Votes (Like | Disagree)
JCCL Avatar
14 months ago
Strip club, here I come!!!!! :D

j/k
Score: 43 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dwalls90 Avatar
14 months ago
I have seen some use this functionality, and it wasn't for buying holiday gifts...
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
ILoveCalvinCool Avatar
14 months ago
I can't believe people let other people constantly track their location on their phone. I've never used this feature and never will, nor will I ever expect anyone else to have me constantly tracking them.
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
obamtl Avatar
14 months ago
I’m sure that’s exactly what people will use this for, much in the same way Craig Federighi hides Hair Track Pro on his phone. ?
Score: 22 Votes (Like | Disagree)
brett_x Avatar
14 months ago
Cheaters gonna cheat
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

streaming black friday 2025

Black Friday Streaming Deals Include Big Savings on Disney+, Hulu, Apple TV, and More

Monday November 24, 2025 8:03 am PST by
We've been focusing on deals on physical products over the past few weeks, but Black Friday is also a great time of year to purchase a streaming membership. Some of the biggest services have great discounts for new and select returning members this week, including Disney+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and more. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When you click a...
iOS 26

iOS 26.2 Adds These New Features to Your iPhone

Thursday November 20, 2025 10:50 am PST by
iOS 26.2 is currently in beta testing. The upcoming update includes a handful of new features and changes on the iPhone, including a new Liquid Glass slider for the Lock Screen's clock, offline lyrics for Apple Music, and more. In a recent press release, Apple confirmed that iOS 26.2 will be released to all users in December, but it did not provide a specific release date. Keep reading...
iOS 26 on Three iPhones

iOS 27 Will Reportedly Have Two Key Upgrades

Sunday November 23, 2025 8:48 am PST by
iOS 27 will reportedly have two major elements: quality improvements and new AI features. In his Power On newsletter today, Bloomberg's Mark Gurman said that iOS 27 will be similar to Mac OS X Snow Leopard, in the sense that Apple is focused on improving "quality and underlying performance" over adding new features. Gurman said there is one exception to this rule, though, as he expects...
maxresdefault

The MacRumors Show: iPhone 18 Pro Looks Like a Huge Upgrade

Friday November 21, 2025 9:10 am PST by
On this week's episode of The MacRumors Show, we talk through all of the new features and improvements expected to come to next year's iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max models. Subscribe to The MacRumors Show YouTube channel for more videos Apple's next-generation iPhones are less than ten months away and we already have a good idea about what to expect based on corroborated leaks, rumors,...
General Black Friday Deals 25 Red

Apple Black Friday Deals Available Now on AirPods, iPads, Accessories, and More

Friday November 21, 2025 8:48 am PST by
We're only a few days away from Black Friday, which will take place on Friday, November 28 in 2025. As always, this will be the best time of the year to shop for great deals, including popular Apple products like AirPods, iPad, Apple Watch, and more. In this article, the majority of the discounts will be found on Amazon. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with some of these vendors. When...
Apple Shopping Event 2025

Apple Announces 2025 Black Friday Event, Here's What You Can Get

Thursday November 20, 2025 6:28 am PST by
Apple's annual four-day Black Friday through Cyber Monday shopping event is returning on Friday, November 28 through Monday, December 1 in many countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Thailand, and others. During the shopping event, customers can get an Apple gift card with...
hikawa phone grip stand apple%402x

Apple Launches Second Limited-Edition iPhone Accessory in a Month

Friday November 21, 2025 3:53 am PST by
Apple has begun selling the Hikawa Phone Grip and Stand, a new limited-edition iPhone accessory designed with accessibility in mind. Designed by LA-based Bailey Hikawa to celebrate the 40th anniversary of accessibility at Apple, the grip uses magnets to securely snap onto any iPhone with MagSafe. Apple says it can be removed with ease, and doubles as a stand with two different viewing...
apple news banner

Apple News Loses CNN

Monday November 24, 2025 7:56 am PST by
American multinational news company CNN has abruptly pulled its content from Apple News, Semafor reports. CNN quietly removed its stories from Apple News over the weekend and there is no longer a feed from the network to subscribe to in the app. This effectively ends its distribution agreement with Apple while the two sides negotiate new terms. Discussions are apparently ongoing and CNN's...