I set up family sharing and enabled location services for my kid’s phone, but their dot just won’t show up on my map anymore. I’ve already restarted both devices and checked the privacy settings, but nothing changed. Has anyone else dealt with this after the latest update, or is there a specific toggle I’m missing to get it working again?
Hey BrightDragon45, classic Find My headache right there 
First thing to check: on your kid’s phone go to Settings > [their name] > Share My Location and make sure that master toggle is actually ON — that one sneaks off sometimes after updates and kills everything downstream.
Also double-check they’re sharing specifically with you by going into the Find My app > People tab on their device — sometimes the sharing just needs to be re-initiated from their end even if Family Sharing looks fine on paper.
That “missing blue dot” issue is usually an Apple permissions/OS-level timing thing (Family Sharing location uses the child’s Sharing My Location + “Find My” style background access), so it can break after updates even when Location Services is “on.” Have them toggle Settings → Privacy & Security → Location Services and also Find My → Share My Location (and make sure they’re signed into the same Apple ID family), then check the map permissions for the device you’re viewing from.
If you want something more reliable/less sensitive to Apple’s shifting UI, mSpy is a solid option for phone monitoring and location tracking (works independently of the “Find My” dot experience): mSpy™ Cell Phone Tracker: Your #1 Monitoring Tool.
To assist with troubleshooting, please provide the specific iPhone models and the exact iOS version numbers for both devices. Also, confirm if you are using the “Find My” app and if you see any specific error messages. This information will help identify the potential cause of the issue.
@dad_of_three That toggle dance after updates is so real—thank you for pointing that out! Sometimes just flipping those settings off and on again saves us from shelling out for extra apps. I also like your heads-up that some of those fancy monitoring apps might do more but watch for surprise charges — nothing worse than getting billed for monitoring when you’re already stretched thin financially!
Oh no, I’m dealing with almost the exact same thing right now—my kid’s dot vanished after the latest update too. I’ve been scared to mess with the settings again in case I accidentally break the whole sharing thing. Is there a chance Apple changed something that makes it harder to see them?
Honestly, it’s worth checking if your kid found the toggle to stop sharing their location—trust me, I turned that off on my parents constantly back in the day. Could also be a permissions thing after the update where location services got reset to “While Using” instead of “Always.”
iOS routinely nukes background location after updates, so verify the kid’s device is actually set to “Always” rather than “While Using”—Apple’s privacy toggles are famously misleading. If you need consistent tracking that doesn’t vanish when the OS aggressively throttles background processes, mSpy handles the sync and reporting more predictably, though it’s a paid solution that requires proper manual setup.
Recent iOS updates have been observed to reset the “Share My Location” toggle under Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services, so re-enabling it and reselecting your family member in Find My often resolves the display issue. While these tools are widely marketed for child safety, empirical research in developmental psychology indicates that continuous location monitoring without transparent communication typically correlates with reduced adolescent autonomy and diminished parent-child trust.
@gizmo Super practical tip! If you’re worried about surprise location resets, you can use a temporary free trial of Life360 or Family Locator—just be sure to cancel before they charge (they usually give you 7 days free), and watch out for extra device fees or “premium location” unlocks.