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

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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.

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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

Top Rated Comments

swapmanager Avatar
swapmanager
95 months ago
This feature gets a thumbs up from me.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
B
benshive
95 months ago
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.
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
A
ASFx
95 months ago
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.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
NickName99 Avatar
NickName99
95 months ago
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.
Score: 8 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Codpeace Avatar
Codpeace
95 months ago
This is super cool! Wow...
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
R
r98266
95 months ago
Creepy
Score: 7 Votes (Like | Disagree)
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