Raise your hand if you believe that it could sometimes prove useful to know where your friends and family are at the touch of a button.

Do you need some context here? Okay, let’s say you’re meeting someone for lunch, and let’s say that someone usually has a tendency to be late. Wouldn’t it be great if you could avoid having to stand around waiting for fifteen minutes? Imagine you’re attending a conference together with some colleagues and some of them happen to go AWOL; knowing they’re not far off would help facilitate the organisation process. What if it were possible to receive a notification every time your twelve year-old leaves school? It’s not such a bad idea, is it?

Apple’s Find My Friends App

All those in favour will be happy to hear that there’s actually an app for that now. Apple’s ‘Find My Friends’ app was launched in 2011 and allows you to localise and track people with an iOS device. The app also synchronises with Contacts and Maps, making things even more convenient.

The app and your privacy

If you’re worried about privacy, there really is no need. Anyone interested in your whereabouts needs to ask for your explicit permission, and you can hide your location at any given time, which means that you could simply make use of the app on occasion. In addition, your last-known location is only stored on Apple’s servers for two hours; after this the data is immediately deleted.

Send your wife an automatic notification when you leave work, receive a message when your father-in-law has finally made his way through baggage claim and never lose family members at Disneyland again. If this sounds like something you need in your life, head on over to the app store where you can download the Find My Friends app for free.

Want more?

Want to find out in what way our friends impacts our quality of life? We got you covered! Find out more about friendship and connecting.