The Apple Find My network is a crowdsourced network of hundreds of millions of Apple devices that use Bluetooth wireless technology to detect missing devices or items nearby, and report their approximate location back to the owner using the Find My™ app on iPhone®, iPad®, Mac®, iPod touch®, or the Find Items app on Apple Watch®. The entire process is end-to-end encrypted and anonymous, so no one else, not even Apple or the third-party manufacturer, can view a device’s location or information. The Find My network also includes features to guard against unwanted tracking.
Apple's Find My network accessory specification lets accessory devices communicate with iOS devices to let the owner locate their accessory by using the Find My network. The network consists of all Apple devices from iOS 13 and iPadOS 13 and onwards, and macOS devices from Catalina and later with the Find My feature enabled. The items locations are displayed in the owners Find My app, which also has additional functionality to locate and protect the users’ devices and prohibit unwanted tracking, such as the option“ to play a sound on the accessory. The Find My network utilizes Bluetooth LE to broadcast a signal that can be picked up by nearby Apple devices on the network.
Several SoCs in Nordic Semiconductor's nRF52 Series supports the Find My network sample project in nRF Connect SDK, including the nRF52832, nRF52833 and nRF52840. They can be used to add Find My compatibility to any new product going to market.