Master the Find My apps

Find people, iPhones and AirTags on your Apple Watch

- Carrie Marshall

No pun intended, but we've lost track of the number of times the Find My app has helped us locate lost items or warned us of items we've left behind. From errant AirPods to misplaced iPhones and the odd AirTag-enabled wallet, purse or bag, the Find My apps have saved us a great deal of stress and probably a lot of money too.

Your Apple Watch has three apps that use Apple's Find My service: Find Devices, Find Items and Find People. They all use Apple's Find My network, which is enormously clever; whenever your device or AirTag is within range of an Apple device, it sends an encrypted signal to Apple via the device’s Bluetooth connection. The other device doesn’t see the signal; it just passes it on to Apple – and when you activate the Find My app, the app simply asks Apple ‘hey, where’s that device?’.

Sounds and warnings

When you locate a missing device, the apps do several things. They tell you where it is or where it was last located, enabling you to see that location in Maps. They enable you to play a sound to help you find it if it’s nearby or alert others in the area. And you can use the apps to warn you if you leave a particular item behind. We have an AirTag in our bag for exactly that reason.

In this tutorial, we’ll show you how the three Apple Watch Find My apps work and what they can and can’t do across all kinds of Apple devices and accessories.