What You Should Know About the Find My iPhone Service and App

Has your iPhone been stolen? If you weren’t able to install the Find My iPhone app on your device, be glad to know that you don’t really need it.

Apple provides each user with a free Find My iPhone service that allows you to track your phone’s location through its built-in GPS. What’s more, you can also lock your device over the internet so that prying eyes won’t get to use or delete all of the data on it.

Find My iPhone: What’s the Difference Between the Service and the App?

While having the Find My iPhone app installed is a huge advantage for anyone who has lost their iPhone, you can still track your phone even if you didn’t get to install it. The Find My iPhone service makes this possible.

Unlike the app, the Find My iPhone service lives on the internet because it is based in the cloud. In other words, you can use the service whether or not you had the Find My iPhone app installed. Just use any modern web browser and follow these steps:

Go to iCloud.com
Log in using the Apple ID that was used to set up your lost or stolen device
Click the Find My iPhone icon

What’s the App for?

Since you won’t need the Find My iPhone app to use the Find My iPhone service, you’re probably wondering what the app is for. Although using the app and logging in to iCloud to use the service are basically the same, the app can be installed on another phone so that you can use it to locate your missing phone. Alternatively, you can use the service on your computer if you’re trying to hunt down a lost or stolen phone.

However, if you’re trying to track your iPhone while you’re on the move, it’s easier to do it using your family member or friend’s phone instead of lugging a laptop in a car or around your home.