There’s a way to freeze your location on Find My iPhone without turning off the device completely. Here are a few methods you can try:
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Activate Airplane Mode: This is the quickest method. When you turn on Airplane Mode, it disables all wireless communications on your device, including Wi-Fi, cellular data, and Bluetooth. Consequently, Find My iPhone won’t be able to update your location. Just remember that this will also cut off your internet connection, so you won’t get any notifications or calls. You can turn on Airplane Mode by swiping up from the bottom of the screen to open the Control Center and tapping the Airplane Mode icon. Alternatively, go to Settings and toggle the Airplane Mode switch.
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Disable Location Services for Find My iPhone: This method won’t cut off your entire connection, but just your location for the Find My iPhone service specifically. Go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services. Scroll down to Find My iPhone and toggle the switch off. This way, other apps can still access your location if you need them to, but Find My iPhone won’t be updated. Keep in mind that if someone is actively looking at your location, they might see it go blank.
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Temporary Spoofing: If you have a jailbroken iPhone, you can install certain apps that allow you to fake your location. Applications like “Location Faker” or “iTools” give you the option to set a static location that won’t change. Jailbreaking is a more advanced process and comes with its own risks, such as voiding your warranty or exposing your device to security vulnerabilities, so proceed with caution.
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Use Another Device: If you have another Apple device, like an iPad or another iPhone, you can sign into your Apple ID on that device and leave it in a safe place. Then, all location requests will go to that device instead of your current one. This method ensures that your iPhone remains connected and functional while diverting the location tracking to another device.
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Turn off Share My Location: Similar to disabling Location Services, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Share My Location, and toggle the switch off. This feature is tied closely to Find My iPhone and will stop sharing the location from every device associated with your Apple ID.
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Change Date & Time Settings: Another less obvious way is to go to Settings > General > Date & Time and turn off “Set Automatically.” Then, manually change the time and date to a previous time. This can sometimes trick the Find My iPhone service, although it’s not always reliable.
It’s important to note some of these methods might result in temporary gaps in your location history, which could raise suspicion if someone is closely monitoring your location.
Finally, keep in mind that frequently toggling these settings off and on could draw attention as someone might question why your location keeps dropping.
All these methods have their own pros and cons, but hopefully, one of them will fit your needs without forcing you to turn off your phone entirely.