Family Sharing – Stopping a member turning off Location Sharing

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Family Sharing – Stopping a member turning off Location Sharing

Hi, I have Family Sharing set up with my wife and two children. Both children have Content & Privacy Restrictions set up. My Son often turns off Location Sharing, mainly when he's doing something he shouldn't be.

Is it possible to stop him from being able to turn off his Location Sharing?

At the moment if you go into Screen Time > Family Member > Content & Privacy Restrictions, Share My Location is set to "Don't Allow". Does this mean "don't allow changes on the family member's iOS device", or "don't allow location sharing"?

Thanks, Andrew

Posted on May 24, 2022 8:50 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

andrewparker1979 Author

Level 1

56 points

Jun 17, 2022 12:01 PM in response to andrewparker1979

So I’ve managed to look into this, and it would appear there is a fatal flaw. With all the settings outlined above my son is still able to go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services and toggle Location Services on and off. Turning it off stops location sharing. Not good and seemingly no way I can control it.

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Answer 2

May 25, 2022 9:47 AM in response to amandal80

Many thanks for your reply. Those are indeed the settings that have been applied to his iCloud account, however he is still managing to find a way of turning it off so that I cannot see his location in Find My.

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Answer 3

May 25, 2022 10:13 AM in response to Alex_Han

Hi, for clarity –

• On my child's device he is unable to change any settings under his iCloud account, this is greyed out

• On my device, if I go to Screen Time > Child (under Family) > Content & Privacy Restrictions, Share My Location is set to "Don't Allow"

He doesn't know the passcode yet seems to be able to toggle Location Sharing on and off somewhere outside of his iCloud account.

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Answer 4

amandal80

Community Specialist

May 25, 2022 8:24 AM in response to andrewparker1979

Hello and welcome to Apple Support Communities, andrewparker1979,

If we understand your post correctly, you'd like to set up your son's iPhone so that he is unable to turn off Location Sharing. We’d like to help.

When you select "Don't Allow" you are locking the settings for Location Sharing. When "Don't Allow" is on your passcode will be needed in order to make changing to this setting. For more details check out this article:

Use parental controls on your child's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch - Apple Support

Let us know if you have additional questions about Family Sharing.

Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities.

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Answer 5

Alex_Han

Community Specialist

May 25, 2022 10:06 AM in response to andrewparker1979

Hi andrewparker1979,

We were wondering if you enabled the setting you asked about in your first post? You mentioned the other settings were enabled, but didn't call out that one specifically again. You'll want that enabled and set to "Don't Allow." For more clarification on what that means:

Share My Location: Lock the settings for location sharing in Messages and Find My Friends

This will lock the settings for that device. This is from the aforementioned resource Use parental controls on your child's iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch.

If you think your child might know your passcode and disabling the setting themselves on one of your devices, you could consider changing it using the following steps in Use a passcode with your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch.

We hope that helps with your question and take care!

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Answer 6

Gena_D

Community Specialist

May 25, 2022 10:22 AM in response to andrewparker1979

Thanks for those answers, andrewparker1979.

It does sound like everything is set as it should be so your child should not be able to adjust that setting without your passcode. Just to make 100% sure, have you changed your passcode and tested the issue? If not, please do so now.

If you have and the issue persists, further assistance may be needed. We want to make sure you reach the right team for help with this behavior, so we recommend that you contact Apple Support directly. Depending on your region, you may be able to reach them here: Get Support.

Thank you for participating in the Apple Support Communities and have a wonderful day.

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Family Sharing – Stopping a member turning off Location Sharing

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