How to Freeze Location on Find My iPhone [Top 6 Ways]
The Find My app is a powerful feature on Apple devices, allowing you to locate your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, or even friends and family who have shared their locations.
While it ehances safety and convenience, sometimes you might want to pause or freeze your location, whether you're planning a surprise, taking a break from being tracked, or simply protecting your privacy.
In this article, we'll explore whether it's possible and how to pause location on Find My app, why you might want to do so, and provide answers to common questions about this feature.
Part 1. Can You Pause Your Location on Find My iPhone?
This is one of the most common questions users ask: Can you pause your location on Find My iPhone? The short answer: Not directly. Apple doesn't offer a built-in "pause" button that temporarily stops sharing your location temporarily and then automatically resumes later. Instead, the Find My service works in a simple on-or-off manner.
But don't worry - you can still achieve the same effect. By using certain tricks, you can effectively pause or freeze your location on Find My, making it appear as if you're staying in one spot or as if location sharing has stopped altogether.
Benefits of Freezing Find My iPhone Location
Here are some benefits of freezing location if you're still hesitating whether to pause your location on the Find My app or not:
- Privacy Concerns: If you prefer not to be tracked for a certain period, pausing your location sharing provides a temporary solution.
- Surprises or Special Plans: Planning a surprise party or gift for someone? Hiding your location can help keep it a secret.
- Break from Tracking: Some users might feel overwhelmed with constant location tracking and prefer to step away for a while.
- Safety Reasons: In certain situations, you might want to stop sharing your location temporarily to protect your safety.
Part 2. How to Freeze Location on Find My iPhone
Now that we've covered the basics, let's go through practical methods on how to pause your location on Find My iPhone. Each method has its pros and cons and even different notifications, so pick the one that works best for your needs.
Method 1. Turn Off Location Sharing in Find My
The most straightforward way to stop others from seeing your location is by turning off sharing directly in the Find My app. Here's how to pause location on Find My by turnning off location sharing feature:
For a Specific Person:
Step1. Open the Find My app on your iPhone or iPad.
Step2. Tap the People tab at the bottom of the screen.
Step3. Select the person or people with whom you are sharing your location.
Step4. Scroll down and tap Stop Sharing My Location or turn off the sharing toggle.
Step5. Confirm your choice when prompted.
For Everyone:
This option stops sharing your location with all friends and family at once.
Step 1. Go to Settings > [Your Name] > Find My.
Step 2. Toggle off the "Share My Location".
What Others See:People you stop sharing with won't receive an alert, but if they try to check your location, they'll see "No Location Found."
Method 2. Disable Location Services Entirely [Be Cautious]
Turning off location services on your iPhone prevents all apps, including Find My, from accessing your location. So, you can disabled the location services on your iPhone to pause location on Find My app, here is how to freeze your location on Find My iPhone by disabling Location Services completely:
Step 1. Open Settings on your iPhone.
Step 2. Scroll down and tap Privacy & Security.
Step 3. Select Location Services and toggle it off to disabled location services.
When location services are disabled, apps like Find My won't be able to update your location.
What You Experience:This method works, but it comes with drawbacks. You won't be able to use navigation apps like Apple Maps or Google Maps, your Weather app won't show local forecasts, and your photos won't get location tags. It's often too disruptive for something as simple as pausing Find My.
Besides, others will also see "No Location Found" or related notification on Find My.
👉 Tip: If you don't want to affect other apps, you can disable Location Services just for Find My. Here's how to freeze location on Find My app only:
Step 1. Go to Settings > Privacy.
Step 2. Tap Location Services and toggle it on.
Step 3. Scroll down and navigate to the Find My app.
Step 4. Tap it and choose Never under the Allow
Location Access section.
Method 3. Switch to Another Apple Account
As the Find My service is closely related to your Apple Account, switching to another Apple Account can pause and stop your location sharing completely. While this does work, it's not a good option if you don't have a plausible excuse when you're asked why switching accounts.
Here's how to pause location on Find My iPhone by switching Apple Accounts:
Step 1. Go to Settings and tap your Profile.
Step 2. Scroll down and tap Sign Out button. Then, enter your Apple ID password.
Step 3. Choose whether to keep certain data on your iPhone.
Step 4. Confirm to sign out and then sign into your another Apple ID.
What You Experience:This completely ends location sharing, but it also disconnects iMessage, FaceTime, iCloud backups, and your App Store purchases. Even worse, signing out requires you to disable Find My iPhone and Activation Lock, leaving your device vulnerable if it’s lost or stolen.
Part 3. How to Pause Find My Location without Turning It Off
In this part, you'll learn three more ways to temporarily pause Find My Location. These methods are more subtle. They don't involve turning the "Share My Location" feature off, but instead trick the app or stop the data transmission, giving you plausible deniability.
Method 1. Freeze Find My iPhone Location via Reliable Spoofer
The most effective way to freeze your Find My iPhone location is to use a professional GPS spoofer. Instead of turning the feature off, this method feeds the Find My app a false set of coordinates.
One of the best tools for this is TunesKit iPhone Location Changer. This powerful program lets you override your real GPS location, change it to anywhere in the world, or even simulate movement - all without physically moving your device.
Here're some features of TunesKit Location Changer:
- Works on most iOS devices
- Instantly change your GPS location worldwide
- Includes 5 modes: direct change, two-spot movement, multi-spot movement, jump teleport, and joystick simulation
- Easy setup and safe to use
Freeze Find My iPhone Location Instantly with TunesKit
TunesKit Location Changer gives you the power to manage your GPS: freeze it, change it, or teleport instantly without turning off Find My.
600,000+ Downloads
Here's how to use TunesKit Location Changer to pause location on Find My iPhone; you can follow the below steps to make it.
Step 1Download and Install Program
Install TunesKit iPhone Location Changer on your computer and connect your iPhone to your computer. Then, select General Mode as the simulation mode.
Step 2Pause Location on Find My
Then, you can select a mode to change the device location. The default mode is teleporting to one spot instantly. Just click on the Start button after selecting the location changing mode. Then, set the Start point and End point on the map to change the device location.
What Others See:This is the most discreet method. Instead of showing "No Location Found," Find My continues to display a live, active location pin - just at the fake spot you selected. To anyone checking, it looks completely normal.
Method 2. Pause Location on Find My iPhone via Airplane Mode
Another easy option is to use Airplane Mode. Airplane Mode disables all wireless connections, including GPS location tracking, effectively pause location on Find My app. Let's see the how-to.
Step 1. Swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone screen to access the Control Center (on iPhones with Face ID) or swipe up (on older models).
Step 2. Tap the Airplane Mode icon to enable it on your device.
Step 3. While in Airplane Mode, your device will pause sharing its location with others.
Note
Keep in mind that Airplane Mode will also disable Wi-Fi, cellular data, and Bluetooth. You won't receive calls or messages during this time. If you wan to connect to a internet connect with Airplane Mode enabled, you can connect your device to a Wi-Fi connection.
What Others See:They won't get a notification. Instead, Find My will show your last known location with a timestamp like "15 minutes ago" or "Yesterday." This makes it look as if your phone ran out of battery or lost signal.
Method 3. Share Different Locations from Another iOS Device
If you have access to a second Apple device, this method is another clever workaround. Instead of pausing location updates, you can make Find My show the location of your spare device.
Here are detailed steps on how to pause location on Find My app by sharing a different location:
Step 1. Open the Find My app.
Step 2. Use another Apple device (such as an iPad or an old iPhone) logged into your Apple ID.
Step 3. Place this secondary device at the location you want to appear as your current location.
Step 4. In the Find My app, tap Me at the bottom.
Step 5. Select Use This [Device] as My Location.
Your location will now reflect the secondary device instead of your actual location. You can put your secondary device at home to pause location on Find My app.
What Others See:The app will show a live, real-time pin - just from the location of your secondary device. If you leave that device at home, it will look like you're there, even if you're actually out and about.
If possible, use the same model of iPhone/iPad as your main device. That way, it looks more consistent when someone checks the details.
Part 4: FAQs on How to Pause Location on Find My iPhone
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1. Does Turning Off Location Services Stop Find My Friends?
Yes. Find My (formerly Find My Friends) relies on Location Services. If you toggle Location Services off completely, Find My will stop sharing your location and display "No Location Found."
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2. Does Find My iPhone Notify When You Stop Sharing Location?
No. When you stop sharing your location in the Find My app, the person you stopped sharing with will not be notified. However, if they try to view your location, they will see a message saying, "Location not available."
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3. Does Airplane Mode Freeze Your Location on Find My iPhone?
Yes. Enabling Airplane Mode pauses your location at the last spot before your phone went offline. Instead of saying "Location Not Available," the app shows your old location with a timestamp - similar to what happens when your phone runs out of battery or loses signal.
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4. Does Removing Someone on Find My Stop Sharing Location?
Yes. Removing someone in the People tab has the same effect as tapping their name and selecting Stop Sharing My Location.
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5. How to Temporarily Stop Sharing Location on Find My?
The simplest way is by turning on Airplane Mode (see Part 3, Method 2). It creates a temporary pause that looks natural, and your location updates automatically when you turn Airplane Mode off.
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6. Can I Pause My Location for Specific People?
Yes, you can stop sharing your location with specific individuals in the Find My app while continuing to share it with others. Just check detailed steps in Part 2 Method 1.
Part 5. Conclusion
That's all about how to pause location on Find My in this guide! Pausing your location on the Find My app is a simple and effective way to maintain privacy, plan surprises, or take a break from being tracked.
You can try using the above ways when you need to pause location on Find My app, and TunesKit Location Changer is the most-recommended one as it can help users change GPS location on iOS/Android devices with simple clicks. With the steps outlined above, you can take full control of your location-sharing preferences on your Apple devices.
