Apple's seamless integration with its products is one of the major reasons why people purchase them. It's rare to find a person who only owns one Apple product. Once you're inside Apple's walled garden, it's impossible to escape. And for good reason!

Apple has many apps that are specifically optimized to function on all of its devices. Find My is one such app. It's free and baked into all Apple devices—from the iPhone and iPad to the Apple Watch and even the AirPods. You can use it to keep track of all of your Apple devices, people, and items.

What Is Find My? (And How to Set It Up)

Find My, formerly known as Find My iPhone, is built into all Apple devices and doesn't have to be downloaded. It essentially performs three functions:

• Keep track of all your Apple devices. This helps you locate lost AirPods, Apple Watch, or anything with an AirTag on it.
• Factory reset your Apple devices if you want to sell them or can't locate them.
• Stay updated with the location of your friends and family if they've shared their location with you.

It's a valuable app that everyone should activate as soon as they start using an Apple device. To enable it, all you have to do is turn on Location Services. Follow the instructions below to do so:

1. Click on the Apple logo in the macOS menu bar and go to System Preferences > Security and Privacy > Privacy.
2. Click on the lock icon and enter your password to be able to make changes.
3. In the list of apps and services on the left, select Location Services and click on the Enable Location Services checkbox.
4. Enable Find My by clicking on the checkbox next to it in the list on the right.
5. Now click on the Apple logo in the menu bar and go to System Preferences > Apple ID > iCloud.
6. On the right, you'll see a list of apps. Here, scroll down and check the box next to Find My Mac.
7. Click on Allow when you get the pop-up to enable it.

Congratulations, you've added your Mac to your Find My network and can now locate it using any of your Apple devices!

How to Locate People With Find My on Mac

When you open Find My on your Mac, you'll see a list of people, devices, and items on the left side of the window and Apple Maps on the right.

If you have friends and family who use Apple devices, they can share their location with you by sending you a request. When you accept it, you'll see their names in the list on the left. You'll be able to see their exact location on Apple Maps on the right when you click on their names.

By clicking on the Info icon next to their names on the map, you can get directions to their locations and set up alerts so that you get a notification whenever they leave or arrive at a certain location, add them to your list of favorite contacts, and end location sharing.

Click on Share My Location at the bottom of the window to share your location with people. Type the name or Apple ID of the person you want to share it with and click on Send. Note that you can only share your location with people from your Mac if you have an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

How to Locate Your Apple Devices With Find My on Mac

Locating your Apple devices with Find My is the app's most useful feature. When you click on Devices, you'll be able to see all of your Apple devices with Location Services enabled.

If any of your Apple devices don't show up in the list, we recommend you set up Find My on it immediately, as you won't be able to track its location if you lose it without enabling Location Services.

The Device section works the same way as the People section. Click on any of your devices in the list on the left to see its location on the map on the right. When you click on the Info icon next to the device, you'll see a list of actions you can perform.

You can make the device emit a sound, get directions to it, enable notifications so that you get notified when the device is found, and factory reset it. You can also mark it as lost and activate Apple's Lost Mode, so anyone who finds it can see your contact details on it.

If there's a blue circle around your device on the map, it means the location isn't precise. A device's location is only updated when it's online, which means if you lose it, you'll see its location from when it was last online. Using another Apple device, you can use Find My to retrieve your lost Mac.

How to Locate Items With Find My on Mac

Apple introduced this feature alongside macOS Big Sur 11.1. You can locate any item on Find My using Apple AirTags or Find My-compatible third-party trackers. However, you'll need an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch to add an AirTag or a third-party tracker to your Find My network. Find My prompts you to name your items while registering them so that it's easy for you to know

Once you've connected your items, they'll appear in the list on the left. You can see their location on the right. Click on the Info icon to perform different actions, such as making the items play a sound, enabling notifications, getting directions, and marking them as lost.

You might see more options depending on what tracker you're using. You can also reset an AirTag using Find My.

Never Lose Your Stuff With Find My

Find My is perhaps the greatest way to keep track of all your Apple devices and items. You can ping your devices and easily get directions to their location on Apple Maps.

You can also use Find My to stay updated about the whereabouts of your friends and family if they've shared their location with you.

All you have to do is turn on Location Services on your Mac, and you're ready to start using Find My!