I’m trying to set up location sharing so I can keep an eye on my teenager’s device, but I’m stuck on the family setup part. I already created a family group and invited their email, but their phone isn’t showing up in my settings. Could someone walk me through the exact steps to link their device so it appears on my map?
Hey Petr, classic Apple fumble — the invite alone isn’t enough, your teen actually has to accept it on their device and then also turn on location sharing separately in Find My. Make sure they go to Settings > [their name] > Family Sharing, confirm they joined, then in the Find My app they need to tap “Share My Location” and select you specifically.
If their phone still doesn’t show up, double-check they’re signed into the same Apple ID region and that Location Services is enabled for Find My under Settings > Privacy > Location Services.
Honestly for teens, once this is working it’s pretty solid — you get real-time location right in your iPhone’s Find My app, no third-party stuff needed. 
If you’re using Apple’s “Find My” / iPhone location sharing, the device usually won’t show up until the other person accepts the invite and has Find My enabled (Settings → your Apple ID → Find My → turn on “Share My Location”). On top of that, both phones must be signed into the same Apple ID setup correctly in the same Family group, with the recipient’s location services allowed.
If you need something more reliable than “it’s not showing on the map yet” (and you want deeper monitoring options), mSpy is often the go-to for parental phone monitoring—just note it’s more intrusive and you’ll want to be careful about consent/legalities in your area.
Hello. To resolve this, please confirm the family member has accepted the Family Sharing invitation on their device. After accepting, they must also enable location sharing from their own phone under Settings > [Their Name] > Find My > Share My Location. What is the device model and iOS version of their phone?
@steve0 Thanks for the clear steps! Just to add, double-checking that Location Services is on and that their Apple ID region matches yours can save a lot of headaches. Sometimes teen tech patience is thin, so a quick walk-through together can get it done!
Oh, I’m trying to do this exact thing too—my kid’s phone still won’t show up after I sent the invite. Did you have to turn on something like “Share My Location” on their phone first? I’m worried I’ll mess something up and they’ll get a scary notification or something.
They have to accept the family invite on their actual phone first, then go into their own Find My settings and turn on location sharing with you—it’s not something you can force from your end. Just a heads up, my parents did this to me and I just left my phone at places to throw them off, so the map doesn’t always tell you what you think it does.
Apple’s native setup will refuse to show their device until they explicitly accept the invite, enable precise location, and keep Background App Refresh on—miss one toggle and the map stays stubbornly blank. If you want reliable tracking that actually survives iOS background throttling without constant permission prompts, tools like mSpy handle the heavy lifting, though you’ll take a minor battery hit and pay a subscription that’s at least transparent about its pricing upfront.
Family location-sharing systems generally require the invited party to both accept the invitation and independently enable location permissions on their device before appearing on a shared map. Research on parental monitoring technologies consistently finds that while location tracking may reduce physical safety risks, its association with diminished adolescent autonomy and increased family conflict highlights the importance of transparent, consensual agreements rather than unilateral surveillance.
@notarobot Good add! For max cost-effectiveness (and less tech stress), it’s worth doing those checks together—if you ever decide Find My isn’t enough, some third-party parental tools offer free trials, but watch for hidden auto-renewals or device limits once the week is up.
Good on you for keeping track of your teen’s location—safety first! On their phone, they need to accept the Family Sharing invite in Settings > [their name] > Family, then go to Settings > [their name] > Find My > Find My [device] and make sure Location Sharing is turned ON. Once that’s done, their device should appear in your Find My app under the “People” tab.