Find My Friends Social Networking App Review (iOS, Free)

Description

Find My Friends allows you to easily locate friends and family using your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Just install this free app and sign in with the Apple ID you use with iCloud. Adding a friend is easy — just choose from your contacts or provide an email address to send an invitation. When your friend accepts your invitation using the Find My Friends app on their device, you can start following their location. Your friends can request to follow your location the same way.

If you prefer, you can use temporary sharing to share locations with a group of friends for a specific period of time, such as an evening or a long weekend. If at any time you don’t want to be followed, you can hide your location with a single switch.

Find My Friends also lets you set up location-based alerts that can notify you automatically when a friend arrives at the airport, a child leaves school, or a family member arrives home safely. You can notify friends about your current location or changes to your location at any time.

Find My Friends works even when the app is in the background (a passcode lock on your device is required) and has been optimized to avoid draining your battery.


FEATURES


• Easily locate friends and family

• Temporary sharing option

• Location-based notifications

• Simple privacy controls

• Parental restrictions 

• Free for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch



Supported languages: English, Arabic, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese 

REQUIREMENTS:


Find My Friends Version 3.0 requires iOS 7 or later and iCloud. You can create a free iCloud account on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

Customer Reviews

• Disappointed

  by tonimesha

  I used to love this app, but now it is crap. FIX NOTIFICATIONS!! I expect more from Apple.

• Location based alerts

  by Dr. Gatsby

  Turns out for those complaining about not receiving location alerts from friends, I think both people need to leave the find my friends app open in the app switcher and background app refresh turned on for this app to work, but if constraints are met it works great. However, it wasn't always this challenging until iOS 7 and now these options defeat the purpose. Same with the reminders app and location-based reminders.

• Issue

  by ColorStormWeb

  Great app as always, but as of the iOS 7 update the "notify me" does not work!

• Life saving

  by Lgembroski

  I was in a car accident just a week ago on the interstate highway early in the morning. Because of this app, my sister could pin point my location and send my parents to my exact location of the accident to retrieve my belongings when I went to the hospital in an ambulance. It literally saved my life. Thank you to the creators of this app.

• Good app, but one bug

  by synapsecbn

  When the map is full screen, the refresh button does not work. Annoying.

• Very accurate, but...

  by Sleepy driver

  Everything is great about it, but it would be awesome if you could be notified when a friend leaves AND arrives at the same location. Not just one or the other.

• Know where everybody is without having to call them

  by janster94087

  We use find my friends for everybody in the family (parents and kids) It allows us to locate each other without having to call them. Great app for parents wanting to know where their kids are.

• Great ...except

  by wxfanbob

  Great app, but is horrible that u can't opt to stay signed in! Even for a specific block of time! Like two hours even!

• Friends

  by RGTV

  Great app.. Please fix the unstable issue's plz,,!!

• Helpful during daughters moving trip

  by Need Prayer Stop Here

  When my daughter moved from Mass to Kentucky this App was just what I was looking for! A way to see where she was on her journey! I just wish there had been a help button cause we had difficulties at first.

• I

  by Anahi 49

  I stalked my crush for 2 weeks :3

• Would be nice if geofencing worked

  by Paul2013

  It's been broken since 3.0.

• It works. Kind of.

  by Shock3r

  Everything works fine except the notify me feature. Notify me when arriving or leaving location 100% NEVER works. This is a major feature that could make it a game changer but fails to deliver.

• Needs some fine tuning

  by digital man 2112

  The location tracking works most of the time but it's slow. The notifications almost never work...ever.

• Different

  by Me90876

  Cool app. If you have close friends who you want to know were they are and don't care if they know were you are 24/7. Then get this. XD

• Lost is lousy

  by Taysmiles

  I love this app for things like when I was lost looking for my boyfriend and could follow the roads on the map to get to his dot. But the best is for when a friend is drunk and needs a ride. They probably don't know where they are so you can find them easily this way.

• Good, but...

  by FxnBonz

  Good app with potential, but the notification does not work. Specifically, it will not notify me when a friend returns to a particular location. This should be fixed asap.

• I like this app

  by Majed K. Alsubaie

  i use it with my brothers ❤️

• Notifications do not work

  by Richard Labadie

  Notifications do not work Any ideas Happen after last ios7 update

• Only works 1/2 the time

  by Michele683

  Love the idea, as my husband is chronically late, it gives me an idea of where he might be... But it only works 1/2 the time, will only show me info from hours prior. Not sure why in the same area, it can't update 1/2 the time.

• Notify me doesn't work

  by Verticaltakeoff

  "Notify me" doesn't work reliably. Boooo.

• Ruined after update

  by dmbpj

  This app used to work well, but like others have reviewed, it is virtually inoperable since the last update.

• Needs new update

  by ChariSmith

  I only follow three people. After this update I only get one notification from one person out of all three of them. And that STILL doesn't always alert me. All of our alerts, notifications, etc are on. Still no change. Please fix the app to work like it used to a year ago when I loved it back then. It had almost zero frustration then.

• It's helpful but...

  by ShmarlaDawn

  I does a fairly decent job of locating people. However, the notifications feature does not work. It simply does not do what it is supposed to. When I choose for it to let me know when someone has left or arrived...nothing. Fix the bugs and it will be very useful.

• Bad Update

  by Red Hawke

  This app went from being great to being absolutely awful. Bad Apple. As of Feb. 2014, the Notify Me function is still not working properly. Apple is failing miserably.

• Can't find friends after latest update.

  by Bobbymother 1

  Can't find friends after latest update. I have resent find friend requests and after friends accept, they are listed as location un available.

• Having trouble!

  by Sissygirl1111

  I haven't been able to get mine to work very well. I use it to keep track of my 16 year old daughter now that she is driving. Most of the time it won't locate her. I can't figure out what the issue is. She has hers on all the time. Frustrating!

• Doesn't show current location.

  by brunous10

  It only gives me the location to where the person was 1 hr prior, not the current location. It's very annoying Please fix.

• Hiding location

  by Aloha Jacque

  Need to be able to select which friends to hide location from. As it is, When you hide location. It hides from everyone. Fix this I will give it 5stars

• Too many hugs

  by Eric Alves

  Ive been having so many issues with this app. Took like 50 tries to add 1 friend. The app would never add the person so I would repeatedly press "ask to follow" with no sort of response whatsoever. Friend never received request either.

• Needs new update

  by ChariSmith

  I only follow three people. After this update I only get one notification from one person out of all three of them. Please fix the app to work like it used to a year ago when I loved it back then.

• Don't any of you guys have kids???

  by Mytfjju

  My kids have 4th gen ipod Touches. It would be nice for me to be able to track them, but since 4th gen ipods aren't allowed to have ios 7, Find my Friends won't work for them. It would be nice to be able to track them, or for them to track me when I'm on business trips, to say nothing of the usefulness of being able to easily find which of their friends' houses they left their ipods at. But, the boys in Cupertino you should always pay for the latest toys, or they have no idea what it's like to have children.

• Updates

  by MischelleW

  It would be nice if the refresh would work. I just deleted this app. Hopefully you guys can fix it.

• Used to be awesome

  by SneakyJohnson

  Every since the update around the time IO7 was releasing, this app went from useful to useless. Please fix and bring back the refresh button too!

• No longer finds anyone

  by Dsekiss

  This was a great app until about a month ago. Now all I get is no location available

• Fix please

  by apels1nko

  Quits the app all the time fix it please

• Notify me broken

  by Chumpus

  This is an ongoing bug for a lot of users. Don't rely on the Notify Me function because it can stop working.

• The updates are really screwed up and inaccurate.

  by Liuhel

  The "notify me" feature doesn't work at all. The location sometimes take a long time to update and still inaccurate. With the upgrade I almost don't use this appl anymore because the notification is now worthless.

• Find My Friends

  by LA Int

  The app no longer recognizes my id and password. I do not understand what changed, or why it is now impossible to correct the problem. Apple should penalize them severely for corrupting what was a reasonably easy app to operate. This reflects poorly on Apple and they should make the app originators understand that you fail at your peril !!

• Bad update

  by CouchmamaJC

  Friends show up as not able to locate. Can not add friends from contact list can not search for friends to add. Please fix this was a great app

• Horrible App

  by Glapalom

  Before the update to IOS 7 this app worked fairly well. Since the update Apple changed it to where each person you are looking for must have the app running or you can't see their status. And now, I can literally be sitting with a person, they start the app, I start the app and it still cannot find them in my app. Apple, this has to be 1 of your worst apps to date.

• Not working right

  by Ronda Brubaker

  I can't get the leave/arrive alerts to work anymore.

• Change it back

  by Papa Pump

  Location denatured work anymore

• Fix

  by CamronCrazyKC

  Since update contacts will not sync. Please fix!

• Wife caught me cheating

  by AdvancedMacUser

  This app was great until I forgot to hide my wife from the friends lists. Because It showed my exact location she went to where I was and saw me cheating on her... We're now divorced. Thanks to this app!

• Hello Apple? Are you reading these reviews?

  by Really Lost in Seattle

  I'm having the same problems everyone else is. Why haven't these persistent bugs been fixed yet?

• "Notify Me" doesn't work

  by gbgallardo

  "Notify Me" doesn't work on any of my devices anymore after the iOS 7 update. Super annoying because now the app is pretty much pointless unless I check it every two minutes (and that drains your battery).

• New vs old

  by Lui-G

  New version doesn't work with others that have old iOS. Not sure if it is iOS issue or app issue.

• Doesn't locate

  by ajmesch

  Takes way too long to locate or doesn't locate at all. Your last update ruined it.

• Works great, but ugly as sin!

  by NukeBaby

  This is a frequently used and handy app, but I am NOT pleased with the latest version. Wish I didn't upgrade. Bland,flat, and boring.

• iOS 7 version is poor!

  by JenEricRal

  I used to love this app. It does not work nearly as well as it used to. I never receive notifications when I am supposed to. By the time the thing refreshes a location, the information is outdated. The refresh button does not work as it is supposed to, as it rarely will update the location. The app wasn't perfect before, but now it is virtually useless.

• Rarely works when needed

  by TheBenHoward

  The app takes too long to load. Why should a password be required? Takes too long to type in and load and find someone, and by the time it has loaded, the person you're looking for is 9 times out of 10 "unavailable".

• Notify no longer works

  by Gehrhdhshriehssti

  Before the update, the Notify option worked just fine. After the update, it doesn't work anymore. Might try to re-download to see if it fixes it

• No longer works :(

  by Stacys26

  Used to be awesome. Since the iOS 7 update is is no longer able to update or find anyone of my friends. Sad. Really.

• Freezes & shakes

  by Dallas123texas456

  The street signs never stop flickering and the app force closes. Awful update.

• New version

  by Shepanther41

  I loved this app. But hateeee the updated version.. Please put the older version back

• Epic Fail - Terrible Execution

  by Westbrk

  1. Friend invites only work for Apple's built-in mail app. If you or your "friend" use the gmail app then it won't work. Shocker I know, but come on. 2. Notify feature doesn't work. It should be renamed to "draw a circle around your friend and pretend to fence them in" feature.

• New version is awful

  by ~*Amy*~*

  The most recent update is terrible. Very inaccurate. It jumps all over the place. The new icons do not give it a cleaner look at all. Bring back the old version. Very much regretting that I updated

• Used to be great

  by Bayoucoonie

  This was a great app until recently. I used this daily to notify me when my daughter left work as she has a long drive home. It no longer sends me the notifications and takes forever to locate. Please fix!!

• Find My Friends

  by Jimmy L. Burden

  Like the concept but since the last revision, my screen flashes most all time it it locating and even thereafter too! Wish you'd fix this. I am using on mini iPad with OS 7 installed.....

• Don't like the new update

  by Alywil89

  I love the app but with the new update I am nt able to use it. It won't give me a location

• Notifications have stopped working

  by Cate-B

  If the notifications were working, I'd give this a five star. I've used this app for quite a while and loved it - a great way to keep track of family as they travel. A couple of iOS upgrades ago the notifications stopped working and it doesn't always update well or timely. Hope this gets fixed so it returns to the great app I've loved and found so very useful and comforting!

• Major Flaws Since iOS7 Update

  by Derblutenkat

  Check the Apple Support forums and you'll find post after post from users reporting the app is functionally broken since the iOS7 update. Yes, you can "sometimes" query a friend's location and get an accurate hit but it's far less consistent/reliable than previous versions. Notifications when friends leave/arrive are inconsistent and often don't trigger at all. Location queries are excessively slow and frequently return "location not available" or geo-fence areas the size of a small city instead of (even relatively) precise locations. The app used to work flawlessly. Not sure how Apple biffed it so bad with their own app...on their own OS.

• Notify Me Broken

  by P Slaw

  Notify me feature stopped working for me all together in this version. The different options are great they just don't ever notify me when people leave and arrive. My friends have the same problem.

• Defective

  by CRH107

  Rarely works right anymore! People jump all over the place, and are not where the app shows them to be! Useless! Update: Still pretty much useless! All the positive reviews must be faked! Since the latest update the app is even more useless! Update 1/16/14 Still not working correctly. Useless.

• Geofence location fails

  by Euphosin112

  Location notifications work 10% of the time.

• Map is not up to date.

  by Nenasabia

  I love using this app, but it's obvious that the map is not up to date. A store has been constructed at a location, but the map still shows trees and bushes at that same spot. The "notify me" feature doesn't seem to work.

• Dont bother downloading

  by Sgpark66

  App doesn't update or send notifications as description states. We newest iOS and after deleting app and downloading yet again it doesn't live up to description. Sad too, I liked the idea of tracking my kids for their safety.

• Notification no longer works!

  by FlamingCheetos

  Please fix this feature. It was working great until the redesign happen.

• Nice app, but.....

  by Mainemommy3

  Please update the maps! They are very outdated!!

• Not happy with the latest update

  by Doug911

  This app used to be better. Now the alerts don't work. Tracking doesn't seem to be as accurate. It may be because I'm still on a 4S iPhone. It used to be 4 stars.

• Ios7

  by Love movie trivia

  Love the app, but can't get pictures for family in maps to work

• Doesn't work

  by TomasN

  The notification is not working. I never get notified.

• Notifications do not work reliably

  by Theocritus125

  There are a number of help pages where people discuss the problems with notifications, particularly location-based notifications, with this app. The app used to work flawlessly, but does not anymore. The app does not notify me when my contacts (using on iPhone) arrive or leave the locations I've set. I have been unable to find a fix for the issue with Apple's support staff. Disappointing.

• Notifications no longer work

  by Sonyafly

  Since ios7, when I ask Siri to remind me to do something when I get home, etc, it no longer reminds me. I've set it correctly. Also in Find a Friends app when I set it up to let me know when my son has arrived home left a location, it no longer informs me. Please fix this as this is something I have used a lot and it seems that a lot of other people online are having this same issue.

• Does what it says

  by THE BLAZIN ASIAN

  Notifications are hit and miss

• Notifications don't work

  by LFRCHI

  This new version doesn't work properly. The notifications function no longer works. Being back the old version or fix this one.

• I love it!

  by Big Ben Kid

  Works great, couldn't hurt to make the faces on the map a little smaller though.

• Wont work on older devices now

  by T3K

  so in the past we had my old iPod Touch set up so my 4 year old daughter could face time me and message me while I was away. we also had Find My Friends set up because it originally came with the app. She LOVED that she could see where I was. we just now set her up with her own account and reset the ipod, this app is no longer pre loaded, and cannot download it because her OS is frozen at 6.1.5. and no option to download an earlier version..

• Good but needs fixes

  by Mamabon

  Brooklyn NY says Long Island - I saw this for Kings Hway area, please fix.

• Notifications stopped working

  by A List User

  Latest update, the notifications don't work any more if your friend leaves their current location, you rarely get notified. What gives?

• Awesome App!

  by Josh Venziano

  This App has some of Apples best work! It has an incredible new design and works great.

• Not accurate about half the time

  by AriGarza

  Also it won't update sometimes after about forty minutes. Before the update it was very accurate. Looks better but what's the point if it doesn't work.

• Fix notifications and this app will be great again

  by Sparky8181

  I really like this app, but ever since the update for ios7 the notifications no longer work for me. I've tried deleting the app and reinstalling it, but that didn't do anything. Please fix it.

• INNOVATE APPLE!!

  by snmapple

  Please work on more functionality for this app and so that it doesn't keep crashing in my diagnostics log. Can be a great app but right now it is not.

• Unreliable

  by Poorat

  Doesn't notify when someone leaves/arrives at a location. EVER! Just pathetic after all this time and still doesn't work as intended. 5s, updated, poop

• Make it easier to find friends

  by DBnyc

  like the ui but link it to facebook. No one is using this.

• Update made it horrible

  by LRM1012

  I used to LOVE this app but since the update it has stop notifying me when family leaves a certain location. It used to notify me within the minute but now the family member can be home and still hasn't notified me. Very frustrating. Will need to find a different app now. It's still pretty good at locating people in your network.

• Hate new version

  by Amber grufti

  It wasn't broken, why did they "fix" it?

• Bad design

  by ifan_osX

  Lost the desire to use

• Notify me section doesn't work!

  by Z...a

  The notify me button doesn't work anymore with the new update! That was one of the best features about this app! Fix the notify me option in the app to get a better reviews. The "notify me" worked 80% of the times on IOS 6 but now it NEVER WORKS!!!! Common Apple, you are one of the top most valuable companies in the world but you can't even make a good working Find My Friends app. THIS APP IS DESIGNED FOR THE PRODUCTS YOU MAKE SO MAKE THIS APP WORK!

• Bugs

  by gutters

  There has been a bug since the recent release in which the "notify me" feature simply do not work. You can set a notification but the app never actually notifies you. Waiting for a fix. Please

• Iraq

  by mohandaeyad

  Good

• CRASH

  by noodles0387

  Every time I open this app, it crashes

• Good, but could be slightly better.

  by ChicagoInAZ

  I like the new design, but notifications on when people leave a location doesn’t seem to work anymore. This should be incorporated as an app for Mac OS X as well.

• Doesn't Work

  by Sonchai

  Most of the time when I try to use this app my friends show up where they were an hour ago. It doesn't update, staying on 1 hour. Also, when I tried to use this app in Las Vegas, it got me nowhere near my friends location.

• Find Friends APP

  by i_Comment_Apps

  This APP does not provide notifications as it should.

• Only half works

  by Samuel Warren

  The app finds my friends just fine, but none of the geofencing features work. This has been a known issue for some time since the release of iOS7, yet still not fixed.

• Great app before IOS7

  by wfoux

  Tracking is working better since last app update. Notifications for leaving and arriving have not worked since ios7.

• Works great

  by Plajh2

  Does exactly what it says.

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