Updates and More

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What’s New in the Second Edition

This edition is thoroughly updated for changes related to iOS 17/iPadOS 17, macOS 14 Sonoma, and the Find My network for devices and items. This includes new screen captures, step-by-step directions, and other information about changes since the previous edition.

The principal changes include:

• Share Find My items’ location: Standalone Find My trackers like an AirTag or embedded trackers in bikes, earpods, and more, used to be trackable exclusively among a set of devices connected to a single Apple ID, the one used on the iPhone or iPad with which the Find My device was paired. Starting in iOS 17/iPadOS 17 and Sonoma, you can share access to Find My items with up to five other people. See Share Your Find My Items.

• Added an audio device section: Because Apple now offers more features specific to audio devices they make under the Apple and Beats brand names:

  • I’ve added a section to View Locations specific to audio hardware: Find Audio Devices. This includes the new earbud tracking feature for AirPods (3rd generation) or AirPods Pro.

  • If your earbuds are out of their case and separated, Apple now provides a Left and Right tracking label in Find My. See Find Audio Devices.

  • Only misplaced a single earbud? You can play sound out of one or the other. See Play Sound. (This may not be new, but it’s now documented.)

• Industry-wide anti-tracking standard: To answer the criticism of those who find tiny low-power trackers a threat to an individual’s safety and privacy, Apple and Google banded together to create a new privacy-preserving standard that all trackers would comply with, and which would work across ecosystems. See Active Stalking and an Industry Alliance. (This book will be updated later in 2023 or early 2024 as changes to iOS/iPad, Sonoma, Android, and ecosystems occur and some messages and features change.)

• Messages change for sharing: Messages used to require a multi-step process to share your location with another person or other people in a conversation. As part of the simplification of Messages in iOS 17/iPadOS 17, you now just click or tap a plus button to choose Location. (The process remains as it was in macOS Sonoma.) See Share Location with Other People.

• Added Apple Watch coverage: The previous edition of this book didn’t mention the Apple Watch Find My series of apps (Find Devices, Find People, Find Items). Whoops! They’re now included.

• Expanded on broken Lock Mode for Macs: As far as I can tell, Apple has left the option to lock your Mac broken since Monterey’s release. I’ve documented this further in How Mark as Lost Works with a Mac, particularly Apple Broke Lost Mode in Monterey.

• Messages improves embedded map: The location map for other people you see in Messages has gotten an upgrade, with more detail and options. See Find Someone in Messages.

• Request location sharing: Speaking of Messages, you can now request that someone share their location with you from within Messages. See Request Sharing from Someone.

• Updates to third-party trackers: I’ve updated throughout for new and discontinued third-party Find My items. New items include products from 4iii, Ember, ESR, Hyper, and RollingSquare. Belkin no longer makes its Find My-trackable earbuds, and the bike manufacturer VanMoof’s future is uncertain. See Manage Third-Party Find My Items and throughout generally, and A Quick Look at Third-Party Items specifically.