How to stop Find My iPhone

With the "Find My" iPhone feature, you can locate and lock your iPhone even when it's not with you, so it won't get lost or stolen.
The location of your device can be seen on a map when Find My iPhone is activated, for example. In addition to sharing your location, you can even make your lost phone ring to make it easier to find. You can use "Find My" service by activating it using a computer or some other device to locate, reset, or lock your lost iPhone. You can do the same with AirPods, by the way.

You should turn off "Find My" iPhone before you sell or give it away. You don't want the "Find My" iPhone feature to still be active and show your location to the new owner. Just make sure to turn off the "Find My" as close as possible to the sale, because once you do, you can no longer use this feature to track or lock a stolen or lost device. We'd hate for this to happen to you right before you sell it!

‍

There are two ways to shut down "Find My" completely, whether you have the device with you or not, and another option is just to turn off location services. The latter would be very useful if you're planning a surprise and wanna make sure whoever has access to your account can't track your whereabouts. In that case, make sure to also turn off location tracking on your phone so other apps won't catch you and let the secret out.

Anyways, enough about secret parties, let's dive into how to disable "Find My" so you can sell that phone and go party (see what we did there?)

Use your iPhone’s settings

The easiest way to turn off "Find My" will be in iPhone settings:

• Open the Settings app on your iPhone.
• Go to "Find My" > then select "Find My iPhone".
• A green tap will appear at the top of the page if "Find My iPhone" is activated.
• Turn off Find My iPhone.
• Log into your Apple ID account.
• Tap the “Finish” button, and you're done!

Use your iCloud (any device)

In some situations, such as if you have already sold your phone and then realize you forgot to deactivate the "Find My" iPhone feature afterward, don't panic. No, that new owner is NOT going to track you down or own your life - you can turn off "Find My" even if you do not have access to your device. Using any Apple device, you can disable "Find My iPhone" using iCloud, with only 3 steps on your browser.

When resetting your iPhone, be sure to create a backup first! Read more about how to backup your data.

Here are the steps to turn off "Find My iPhone" using iCloud.

1. Open your web browser and go to icloud.com‍
2. Navigate to "Find My iPhone" and select "All Devices" to see the list of connected devices.
3. Make sure your iPhone is turned on, then Click "Erase iPhone" to start the process.
   Confirm the "erase everything" to wipe your phone completely and delete everything from your iPhone / iPad.
4. Delete the selected device by clicking on the Erase button.
   Your Apple ID and password may be required to complete this step.
5. Final step: click "Remove from Account" after you have backed up and erased your iPhone.

Once completed, the new owner of your phone should reboot their device to get started with a fresh Apple ID, so let them know once you're done.

‍

How to Pause Location on Find My iPhone?

The "Find My" app is designed to help you get on and off the grid as needed, with a simple 2-clicks setup to add or remove your location from tracking.

• Go into "My iPhone" app > then select the "Me" icon.
• Select "Sharing Location".
• Click "Don't Share".

‍

To test the success of your setup, try locating your iPhone using "Find my" on your computer or another phone. If you don't see it there - you've succeeded!