How to turn off Find My iPhone: Step-by-step guide

Turning off Find My iPhone is part of preparing a device for transferring ownership of the device, switching Apple IDs, or sending it in for repair. Because the feature is built into Apple’s security system, you should understand what changes when you disable it.

Many people also use it to share their location with friends or family, and may want to stop sharing with specific contacts without turning the feature off completely.

In this guide, we’ll show how to disable Find My iPhone on your device or through iCloud, what to try if the option to disable it is greyed out, and what happens after you turn it off.

How to turn off Find My iPhone on your device

Turning off Find My iPhone on the device is the most direct approach (but you can also turn it off via your iCloud account). When you try to disable the feature, the device requires your Apple ID password because turning it off removes Activation Lock, which is a major security feature.

Turn off Find My iPhone

1. Open the Settings app, then tap on your Apple ID at the top of the screen to open your Apple Account settings.
2. Open Find My.
3. Tap Find My iPhone and turn off the Find My iPhone toggle. Enter your Apple ID password to confirm. Face ID and Touch ID won’t work for this step, so if you’ve forgotten your password, you’ll need to reset it.

Note: If the toggle is greyed out, see our troubleshooting steps below.

Removing friends and family from Find My iPhone

If you don’t want to turn off Find My iPhone entirely, you can stop sharing your location with specific people.

To stop sharing your location with someone, follow steps 1 and 2 above, then:

1. Look for the list of people you share your location with. This may appear under Family, People, or within the Share My Location section, depending on your iPhone setup.

Note: You can also hide your location from everyone by toggling the Share My Location switch here.

2. Select the contact you no longer wish to share your location with.
3. Tap Stop Sharing My Location.

Troubleshooting in-app issues

Turning off Find My iPhone is usually straightforward, but some device settings can prevent you from changing your Apple Account or Find My settings.

Fixing grayed-out settings when turning off Find My iPhone

If the Find My iPhone toggle is grayed out, the most common reason is Stolen Device Protection, which can block the Find My iPhone toggle.

To turn off Stolen Device Protection:

1. Go to Settings and tap Face ID & Passcode.
2. Enter your device passcode.
3. Turn Stolen Device Protection off and confirm with your Apple ID password.
4. Once Stolen Device Protection is off, return to the Find My settings and try again.

If you can’t access your Apple Account Settings at all, it’s worth looking at your Screen Time protections. Screen Time restrictions are usually set by parents on a child’s device, so most adults won’t see them unless the phone has been managed previously.

1. Go to Settings, then tap Screen Time.
2. Tap Content & Privacy Restrictions.
3. Turn off Content & Privacy Restrictions. You may need your Screen Time passcode. For parents, be aware that disabling this removes any limits set through Screen Time, including changes to account settings, app use, and privacy controls.
4. Return to Settings, open your Apple ID, then select Find My and check the toggle again.

How to turn off Find My iPhone remotely

If the iPhone is locked, unresponsive, or you can’t reach the Settings app, you can turn off Find My iPhone through your iCloud account on a computer or another device.

Using iCloud on another device

You can log into your iCloud account using a browser or from the Find My app on another Apple device.

1. Go to iCloud.com/find and sign in with your Apple ID.
2. If two-factor authentication (2FA) is enabled, choose a trusted device or select the SMS option to receive the code. Once Find Devices opens, check the list and select the device you want to remove.
3. On the device page, you’ll see both Erase and Remove. Erase deletes the data on the device, while Remove takes the device off your Apple ID. Tap Remove and confirm your selection (in some cases, you’ll be asked to enter your Apple account password again).

Note: If the iPhone is listed as offline, you can still follow these steps. Activation lock will be turned off immediately and the device will be removed from the Find My network after 30 days. If the device goes back online before 30 days are over, Activation Lock will be turned back on, and you’ll have to go through the steps to remove it again.

Can a VPN help you turn off Find My iPhone?

A virtual private network (VPN) can’t turn off Find My iPhone. Find my iPhone is managed by your device’s built-in security tools and your Apple ID, and Apple always requires the account password to make any changes.

A VPN only affects your network traffic, not the system-level settings. It uses encrypted tunnels to protect your connection.

For more information on how these connections work, see our guide to secure VPN technology and protocols.

What happens after you turn off Find My iPhone?

Turning off Find My iPhone changes how your device handles security and ownership. When you disable it, Activation Lock is removed from that device, which means the phone is removed from your account.

This step is required before selling, trading in, or giving away a device. If you don’t turn Find My iPhone off, the device remains locked to your Apple ID, and only you can turn off Find My, erase the device, or reactivate and use it.

Turning off Find My also completely removes the device from the Find My network. This means that no one (not even you) will be able to see the location of your device on a map. However, you don’t have to turn off Find My entirely to stop sharing your location. You can stop sharing your location with friends and family from the Find My settings separately.