Family and Friends allows location sharing with other iPhone users
A new iOS application was unveiled by Apple on Tuesday dubbed "Find My Friends," allowing users of iPhones to quickly and safely share their location with one another.
Apple's Find My Friends app will leverage iCloud, the company's new, free cloud-based service for iOS devices.
The software aims to allow friends and family to easily locate one another using iOS device features like GPS and 3G data. With temporary sharing options and simple privacy controls, Apple believes it will be a strong addition to its iCloud services.
The app extends the functionality of the current Find My iPhone feature, which sends GPS or WiFi-based location data between two devices. Instead of only being able to send location data between two devices registered under one Apple ID, Find My Friends allows users to broadcast to any iOS product.
Apple touted the following features with its new Find My Friends application. Users will be able to:
Easily locate friends & family
Temporarily share their location
Simple privacy controls ensure safety with the feature
Parental restrictions give parents control of their chilrdren's actions
The app works in conjunction with Contacts and Maps, helping users kill two birds with one stone. For instance, a user can invite a friend to an event with corresponding route information, negating the need for giving directions.
Security measures include "temporary sharing" of locations alongside traditional privacy settings, affording users the option of sharing their location with friends for specific blocks of time, ranging from hours to weeks. When the user-defined sharing period is over, all location sharing ends. In addition to temporary sharing, users can turn off broadcasting altogether by activating the in-app "hide from followers" toggle switch.
The app also has a "follow" feature, allowing contacts to send a friend request that initiates location broadcasting. If permission to follow is granted, a contact is able to receive location information until a temporary sharing period is over, or the user manually hides themselves from followers.
Find My Friends is expected to be included in iOS 5 when it launches on Oct. 12 with the iCloud service.
Apple's Find My Friends app will leverage iCloud, the company's new, free cloud-based service for iOS devices.
The software aims to allow friends and family to easily locate one another using iOS device features like GPS and 3G data. With temporary sharing options and simple privacy controls, Apple believes it will be a strong addition to its iCloud services.
The app extends the functionality of the current Find My iPhone feature, which sends GPS or WiFi-based location data between two devices. Instead of only being able to send location data between two devices registered under one Apple ID, Find My Friends allows users to broadcast to any iOS product.
Apple touted the following features with its new Find My Friends application. Users will be able to:
Easily locate friends & family
Temporarily share their location
Simple privacy controls ensure safety with the feature
Parental restrictions give parents control of their chilrdren's actions
The app works in conjunction with Contacts and Maps, helping users kill two birds with one stone. For instance, a user can invite a friend to an event with corresponding route information, negating the need for giving directions.
Security measures include "temporary sharing" of locations alongside traditional privacy settings, affording users the option of sharing their location with friends for specific blocks of time, ranging from hours to weeks. When the user-defined sharing period is over, all location sharing ends. In addition to temporary sharing, users can turn off broadcasting altogether by activating the in-app "hide from followers" toggle switch.
The app also has a "follow" feature, allowing contacts to send a friend request that initiates location broadcasting. If permission to follow is granted, a contact is able to receive location information until a temporary sharing period is over, or the user manually hides themselves from followers.
Find My Friends is expected to be included in iOS 5 when it launches on Oct. 12 with the iCloud service.
Comments
More meh. Is available in an app called "Glympse."
Interested to see in action but I believe Apple's neighbors in Mountain View have already figured this one out.
Another reason to jailbreak my iPhone, so I can install "Fake My Location" app.
Or if you'd read the webpage about it, you could see that it's a one touch turn off.
Oh, so now it has Google Latitude too?
Nope... iOS devices already have Google Latitude, for almost a year now...
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/googl...306586497?mt=8
...and Loopt has been on iOS devices for over three years.