Finding your friends and lost Apple devices is getting a major upgrade this year. The next big software update from Apple introduces a highly requested privacy feature for anyone who regularly tracks their daily whereabouts. With the upcoming release of iOS 27, users will finally have much better control over exactly how long they share their live location with specific contacts directly from their Apple Watch.
New unified app replaces old trackers with specific time limits
In previous versions like iOS 26, location sharing was mostly an all-or-nothing choice. Now, you can pick a custom duration for sharing your location. You can set it for a few minutes, a couple of hours, or even pick a specific end date. You also get a new option to pause your location sharing with a person until the end of the day. The company built this temporary pause feature to help people plan secret surprise parties or quietly shop for gifts.
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This update also brings major changes to the Apple Watch. When the new watchOS 27 software drops, it will totally combine the old Find People, Find Devices, and Find Items tools into one single application. This unified Find My app uses a map view to help you quickly spot everything you care about on a single screen.
Bringing all these pieces together makes looking for a lost phone or checking on a family member much faster than opening three separate apps. The simple map layout gives you a clear visual of where your friends and gadgets are at all times without extra digging.
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