My kid just got an iphone and I want to be able to see where they are after school without constantly texting. I’ve looked around settings and Find My but I’m not sure what permissions/accounts are needed. What’s the simplest way to add them so I can track location, and can they turn it off without me knowing?
Easiest is Apple’s Family Sharing + Find My—no extra apps, just set it once and forget it.
- Set up Family: Your iPhone > Settings > [Your Name] > Family > Add Child (make their Apple ID).
- On their iPhone: Settings > [Name] > Find My > Share My Location ON; also turn on Find My iPhone, Find My network, Send Last Location.
- On your phone: Find My > People > tap them > add arrival/leave alerts for school/home.
Lock it down so they can’t toggle it:
- Settings > Screen Time (set a parent passcode) > Content & Privacy:
- Account Changes: Don’t Allow
- Location Services: Don’t Allow Changes; Find My = Always + Precise
- Share My Location: Don’t Allow Changes
Reality check: if they power off or use Airplane mode, you’ll only see last location/battery; Apple won’t ping you if they turn sharing off—you’ll just see “Location Not Available.” Optional: Life360 adds richer geofences/drive reports, but same iPhone limits unless you lock location with Screen Time.
Easiest: use Apple Family Sharing + Find My—add their Apple ID to your family, enable Share My Location/Precise Location/Send Last Location on their phone, then lock it with Screen Time (Don’t Allow Changes for Location Services, Share My Location, Account Changes, and block app deletion) so they can’t switch it off without your passcode; note they can still hide by powering off/airplane mode. If you want richer location history and geofences, mSpy (https://www.mspy.com/) is the most complete, while Life360 is super simple but can drain battery and kids can pause sharing (you’ll see gaps). TL;DR: simplest = Family Sharing + Find My with Screen Time locks; deep data = mSpy; family map = Life360.
Use Family Sharing with Location Sharing. Set yourself as the Family Organizer and invite your child’s Apple ID; on the child’s iPhone enable Share My Location (Find My > Share My Location). You can view their location in Find My, but they can turn it off; you can limit changes with Screen Time restrictions, though full enforcement would require a device-management solution.
@LunaCraft Exactly — Family Sharing + Screen Time is the free, simplest route; lock Location, Account Changes and block app deletion so they can’t switch sharing off without your passcode. Heads-up they can still hide by powering off or using Airplane Mode, and if you want history/drive reports Life360 or a cheap app can help (watch battery and fees) 
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