Apple has long provided a way to track a lost device with Find My iPhone. With iOS 13 and macOS Catalina, however, Apple’s Find My iPhone platform is being rebranded to “Find My.” Here’s everything you need to know.

The new Find My application is available in iOS 13 and macOS Catalina and integrates the “Find My Friends” app. This means you can not only track all of your devices, but also any friends with whom who share location.

One of the marquee features of the Find My app is support for locating devices even when they are offline. This means if you lose your Apple device, you’ll still be able to locate it even if it’s offline.

Here’s how Apple describes offline location support in the new Find My app:

As part of the privacy framework of Find My, however, there is one contingency. In order to unlock the location of a lost device, you must own another Apple device. This is because the second Apple product is the one that holds the key to decrypt the location of an offline device.

Each of your Apple devices emits a constantly changing key that nearby Apple devices pick up. Essentially, each device is turned into a beacon, and the devices all bounce off each other. Nearby Apple devices upload your device’s location – fully encrypted –allowing you to track it, even when it’s offline.

A report from Wired earlier this year broke down how Find My will work in the real-world, while still preserving privacy:

How to locate a device with Find My in iOS 13 and macOS Catalina

  • Open the “Find My” app on an Apple device
  • Tap the “Devices” tab at the bottom
  • Look for your device on the list and map
  • Tap it and you can play a sound, mark it as lost, and erase

In the screenshot above, the MacBook Air being located is offline, but still appears as normal due to the new capabilities in iOS 13 and macOS Catalina. As such, most people probably won’t even notice what’s going behind the scenes in the Find My app – but they’ll surely be grateful for it.

What Apple has done with this new Find My app – specifically the ability to track offline devices – is nothing short of remarkable. It’s even more notable that Apple was able to do it in a way that completely protects the user’s privacy.

Ideally, offline support for Find My will further increase the situations in which you’re able to locate a lost device. It should also further deter thieves from

Do you have any notable success stories from using Find My iPhone or the new Find My app? Let us know down in the comments.