My teen just got their first iPhone and I want to keep track of it for safety. I know there’s a way to add their device to my Find My iPhone, but I’m not sure how to do it. Can someone walk me through the steps?
Great news — this is actually pretty straightforward! What worked for us was making sure my teens’ iPhones were signed into their own Apple IDs, then adding them to our Family Sharing group through Settings > [your name] > Family Sharing, which automatically connects their devices to Find My.
That said, I’d also recommend pairing Find My with something more robust like mSpy, since Find My only shows location while mSpy gives you so much more visibility into what your teen is actually doing online. Two layers of peace of mind is always better than one! 
Yeah, you’ll need their Apple ID credentials or to set up Family Sharing first. I looked into this stuff recently for… similar reasons, and Family Sharing is honestly the easier route if they don’t have an account yet.
Oh I totally get this! My oldest just got one too and I was so nervous. I think you need to go into Settings on their phone, tap their name at the top, then Find My, and turn on “Share My Location” with your Apple ID. But double check cause I always mix up the steps lol.
oh find my iphone is actually pretty straightforward for this. you just need to make sure you’re both signed into icloud with your apple ids, then go to settings > your name > family sharing > add their device. both of you have to approve the sharing though, so your teen will know it’s enabled.
but what about when they turn off location sharing or go offline? does find my iphone still show the last known location, or does it just go completely dark?
First phones always make you feel like a part-time security guard, don’t they? I do the split custody thing, so I run a couple of tracking setups just to stay in the loop when my teen’s at their mom’s for the week. Apple’s Find My is actually pretty painless if you don’t overcomplicate it.
Here’s the route that worked for me:
• On your iPhone, turn on Family Sharing (Settings > your name > Family Sharing > Invite Someone and enter their Apple ID/email)
• On their phone, go to Settings > [their name] > Find My > turn on “Share My Location” and tap your contact
• Open your own Find My app, go to the People tab, and you should see their dot pop up
Do it together so it’s not some stealth operation. Saves the whole “Dad’s spying on me” fallout later. I also keep a budget monitoring app handy for screen-time checks and geofence alerts when they’re at the other house, but honestly, Find My does the heavy lifting for basic location stuff just fine.
Let me know if the setup throws a weird error. My tech skills max out at the classic restart anyway, but I’m decent at reading the setup panic.
Yeah, you’ll want to set up Family Sharing first if you haven’t already. Then you can add their device through your iCloud settings—just make sure they’re signed in with their own Apple ID linked to your family group. I looked into this stuff recently too, so I get why you’d want that peace of mind.
hey! so basically you both need to be signed into the same apple id or you can share location through find my friends. on their phone they go to settings > your name > share your location > and select you as a person to share with. then it’ll show up in your find my app. but what about when the device is offline? does find my still ping the last location or is there a delay?
Co-parenting really just means learning how to refresh location updates from your ex’s couch without losing your mind. You just set up Family Sharing on both phones, then go into Settings under their Apple ID and flip on “Share My Location.” It works fine for my custody weekends, though I still keep a monitoring app running just in case their battery “conveniently” dies right after drop-off.
@Connectet9 that’s brilliant advice, getting the family sharing sorted makes life so much easier! To be honest, setting up tech can be a bit of a nightmare, so I also use mSpy for that extra bit of security. It really is the best one I’ve tried for peace of mind!
Oh honey, I just went through this with my oldest last month! It’s easier than you think.
You need to set up Family Sharing first in Settings, then open Find My app and tap “Add Device.” Your teen needs to accept the invite on their phone.
My 14-year-old said it felt “invasive” at first, but I explained it’s just until they’re older. You can check their location without them knowing too, my youngest is always forgetting to reply to my texts!
@LoveMentor setting up Family Sharing isn’t exactly a “tech nightmare,” but sure, it’s easier if you don’t get weird about it 
just remember location sharing will be visible to them, unlike stealth monitoring apps.
You just need to set up Family Sharing in your Apple ID settings to get their phone to show up on your Find My app. I work long night shifts at the hospital and worry about what my 10-year-old does online while I’m gone, so just seeing a location on a map wasn’t enough for me. I actually settled on mSpy after trying a few different apps, and it gives me way more peace of mind when I’m too exhausted to constantly check in.
@LoveMentor Extra monitoring can feel reassuring, but it’s worth checking where that app stores location and message data, and who can access it if the account or service gets breached. For something as sensitive as a kid’s movements and phone activity, I’d at least want a clear data retention policy before treating it as “extra security.”
Just invite their Apple ID to your Family Sharing group and make sure Share My Location is toggled on in their Find My settings—I’ve configured this before and it’s the cleanest way to track them without sharing accounts.
@LilyMoose if family sharing is set up, does the other phone get a clear alert every time location is checked, or just when sharing is first turned on?