iOS 27 Is Bringing Major Upgrades to Apple's Find My App
Apple's annual iOS update has always been one of the most anticipated software releases of the year, and iOS 27 is shaping up to be no exception. Unveiled by Apple last week, iOS 27 introduces a wide range of improvements across the entire iPhone experience — but one area that has quietly received some genuinely useful attention is the Find My app. While Find My might not always steal the spotlight the way new camera features or redesigned interfaces do, the updates coming in iOS 27 address real, everyday situations that millions of users face. From discreetly pausing location sharing to customizing exactly how long you share your whereabouts with someone, these new features make Find My smarter, more flexible, and more privacy-conscious than ever before.
iOS 27 is currently available as a developer beta, giving developers and early testers a first look at what's coming. A public beta is expected to roll out in July, and the full release to all users is scheduled for September, in line with Apple's typical fall update cycle. If you're curious about what's new in Find My specifically, here is a detailed breakdown of the three key additions Apple has introduced.
Hide Location: Pause Sharing Without Anyone Knowing
Perhaps the most talked-about addition to Find My in iOS 27 is the new "Hide Location" feature. This option allows iPhone users to discreetly pause their location sharing with specific people — and crucially, the other person will not receive any notification or alert letting them know that their view of your location has been temporarily suspended. Your location simply stops updating for them until the end of the day, with no awkward "so-and-so has stopped sharing their location with you" message popping up on their screen.
Apple itself has cited surprise birthday parties as a prime example of when this feature comes in handy, and it's easy to see why. Anyone who has ever tried to coordinate a surprise event while also being tracked in real time by the very person you're surprising will immediately appreciate the elegance of this solution. Rather than turning off location sharing entirely — which typically sends a notification — Hide Location lets you quietly go off the grid for the rest of the day without raising any suspicion.
The use cases go well beyond surprise parties, of course. There are countless moments where you might want a temporary window of location privacy without making a big deal out of it: picking up a gift, attending a personal appointment, or simply wanting a few hours to yourself without fielding check-in messages. Hide Location gives users that breathing room in a seamless, low-friction way that respects both your privacy and your relationships.
Custom Durations for Location Sharing: Precise Control Like Never Before
Another significant improvement coming to Find My in iOS 27 is the introduction of custom durations for location sharing. On iOS 26, users are limited to just three preset timeframes when choosing how long to share their location with someone: indefinitely, until the end of the day, or for one hour. While these options cover many common scenarios, they leave a lot to be desired when your needs fall somewhere in between — or well beyond — those fixed choices.
iOS 27 changes this entirely. With the new custom duration feature, you can now share your location for any length of time between 15 minutes and 30 days. The interface allows you to set a precise number of days, hours, and minutes, giving you granular control over exactly how long someone can see your whereabouts. Alternatively, you can set a specific date and time for your location sharing to automatically expire, which is particularly useful for planned trips, visits, or events with a clear end point.
- Minimum duration: 15 minutes — ideal for quick meetups or short errands where you want someone to find you easily without committing to ongoing sharing.
- Maximum duration: 30 days — perfect for extended travel, family visits, or situations where you want loved ones to have access to your location for a longer stretch without having to renew sharing repeatedly.
- Date and time expiry: Set an exact moment for sharing to end, removing the need to remember to turn it off manually.
This level of flexibility is a meaningful quality-of-life upgrade for anyone who regularly uses location sharing. It reflects a broader trend in Apple's privacy-first design philosophy: giving users more precise control over their own data and who can access it, and for exactly how long.
Landscape Mode: A Better Experience on Bigger Screens
The third new feature coming to Find My in iOS 27 is landscape mode support. While this may sound like a minor visual tweak, it has practical implications for anyone who uses their iPhone in a horizontal orientation — whether that's while navigating in a car mount, using an iPad-style holder, or simply rotating their phone to get a wider view of the map.
Previously, Find My was primarily designed around a portrait layout, which could feel limiting when trying to get a broader geographic overview or when using the app alongside other tools in split-screen scenarios. With landscape mode now supported, the Find My map and interface adapt to a horizontal orientation, making the experience feel more natural and usable across a wider range of contexts.
When Can You Get iOS 27?
If you're eager to try out these new Find My features, here's a quick timeline of what to expect:
- Developer Beta: Available now for registered Apple developers.
- Public Beta: Expected in July 2026, open to anyone who signs up through Apple's beta software program.
- Full Public Release: Scheduled for September 2026, in line with Apple's annual fall iPhone release cycle.
As always, it's worth waiting for the public release before updating on a primary device, as beta software can contain bugs and instability. That said, if you're a developer or a curious early adopter comfortable with beta builds, signing up for the public beta in July is a great way to explore these features ahead of the crowd.
Why These Find My Updates Matter
Taken together, the three new Find My features in iOS 27 — Hide Location, custom sharing durations, and landscape mode — represent a thoughtful evolution of an app that many iPhone users rely on daily. Apple isn't reinventing Find My from scratch, but it is listening to real-world friction points and addressing them with targeted, well-designed solutions. The Hide Location feature in particular strikes a balance between privacy and transparency that feels genuinely considered: it gives users the ability to step away from location sharing momentarily without creating unnecessary tension or confusion with the people they share their location with.
For families, couples, and friends who use Find My as part of how they stay connected and coordinate their lives, these updates will make the app noticeably more useful when iOS 27 arrives this September. Keep an eye out for the public beta in July if you want to get a head start.