How To Know If Someone Turned Off Their Location On iPhone?

If you’ve ever tried to check someone’s location on your iPhone—through Find My, iMessage, or another app—only to find that it suddenly stops updating, you’re not alone.

It can make you wonder: Did they turn off their location? Are they out of service? Did something go wrong?

Here’s the truth: there’s no single alert or message that tells you someone has turned off their location. But there are clear signs you can look for.

Table of Contents

First, What Apps or Features Share Location on iPhone?

Before jumping into how to tell if it’s off, it helps to know where iPhones even share location from. Here are the most common ways people share their whereabouts on iOS:

Find My (formerly Find My Friends) – lets you share real-time location with contacts
iMessage (via “Share My Location”) – allows ongoing location sharing through conversations
Apple Maps / Google Maps live location sharing
Family Sharing – often used by families to keep track of each other’s devices

Each of these platforms gives different clues when location sharing is turned off or paused.

Signs That Someone Turned Off Their Location

The image shows an iPhone screen with a map displaying "Address Unavailable" under the location section — Here’s how to know if someone has stopped sharing their location with you on iPhone:

1. You See “Location Not Available” in Find My

If you open the Find My app and it shows “Location Not Available” under their name, that’s the most obvious sign. This usually means one of the following:

They manually stopped sharing their location with you.
Their phone is powered off, out of battery, or in Airplane Mode.
They have no cellular or Wi-Fi signal.
Location Services or Find My is disabled on their device.

If it was working fine before and now it suddenly shows “Location Not Available” for an extended period, there’s a good chance they turned it off.

2. You No Longer See Their Location in iMessage

In iMessage, if someone is sharing their location, you’ll see their live location on the map within the message thread. If that’s suddenly gone—and you used to see it—it may mean:

They tapped “Stop Sharing My Location” in the chat.
They disabled location access altogether in their settings.
They removed you from their Find My list.

Pro Tip: Tap their name at the top of the chat, then tap “Info”. If there’s no option to view location, or it says “Not Sharing Location,” that’s a red flag.

3. They Disappear from Your Find My Friends List

Find My app showing items disappearing from the list, indicating a potential location-sharing issue — Source: Youtube/Screenshot, If they used to be visible and now they’re just gone, chances are high they’ve disabled sharing on purpose

In some cases, the person may completely disappear from your Find My list. This could happen if:

They removed you from their list of approved viewers.
They turned off their location sharing for all contacts.
They signed out of iCloud or reset their device.

4. Their Last Known Location Stays Frozen

Another subtle sign: the map shows a location, but it hasn’t changed in hours—or even days. This often means:

They turned off location sharing, and the last known spot is just what was saved before.
Their phone is offline, but sharing was left on when they lost signal.

If someone’s location never updates and they haven’t moved for a suspiciously long time, it might be worth asking them directly.

How Someone Can Turn It Off (And What It Looks Like)

@scottpolderman iPhone trick I bet you didn’t know. Eliminate location tracking. #iphonetrick #iphonetricks #iphonetips ♬ original sound – Scott Polderman

Here’s how someone can turn off their location on iPhone—and what happens on your end when they do:

Method 1: Through Find My

Go to Settings > [Name] > Find My > Share My Location
Toggle Share My Location OFF

What you’ll see: Their name will still appear in Find My, but it’ll say “Location Not Available.”

Method 2: Through iMessage

Open the conversation > Tap their name > Info > Stop Sharing My Location

What you’ll see: You’ll no longer see a map in the chat, and the sharing option disappears.

Method 3: Use Airplane Mode or Turn Off Phone

Enabling Airplane Mode or powering down disables location updates temporarily.

What you’ll see: “Location Not Available” until they’re back online.

Can You Be Notified If Someone Stops Sharing?

Location Services settings on iPhone with "Share My Location" option — If someone decides to stop sharing, that’s entirely up to them—and the only way you’ll know is by checking

No, Apple does not notify you if someone turns off location sharing. It’s done quietly, with no alert or message sent to you.

What You Can Do About It

If you’re trying to keep track of a family member or loved one (especially in emergencies), here’s what you can try:

Ask them directly. Sometimes people turn off sharing by accident.
Use Family Sharing. This setup allows device tracking across all Apple devices in a family group.
Set up notifications in Find My. You can get notified when someone arrives at or leaves a location—but only if they’re still sharing with you.

Final Thoughts

Image showing the "Stop Sharing My Location" option on an iPhone during location sharing — Source: Youtube/Screenshot, Understanding how it works helps you respect boundaries and keep communication open

There’s no magical “alert” that tells you someone turned off their location on iPhone—but there are signs. If you’re seeing “Location Not Available,” a frozen map, or you no longer see them in Find My, it’s a pretty strong clue that location sharing has been disabled.

Whether they did it on purpose or just lost signal, it’s always best to ask if you’re unsure, especially when safety or trust is on the line.

Similarly, if you’re trying to manage your own privacy, turning off SafeSearch on your iPhone can help you gain more control over your search results and online experience.

At the end of the day, location sharing is a personal choice. And while iPhones make it easy to stay connected, they also give users full control over their privacy.