Hello. I just got a google pixel with grapheneos, and would like a way to use Apple’s find-my or something similar with family members who still use Apple. I would like something open source that can either proxy my location to Find My or serve as an alternative. I know these apps and services are inherently not private but I do need it so please don’t be the guy to say “just don’t use it,” I would if it were an option. Thanks.
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You cannot use Find My with non Apple devices. The feature is tightly linked to the physical device it’s activated on, all of which are stored server side at Apple. Which is why things like iCloud Activation cannot be bypassed.
The best you can do is an alternative service that won’t be anywhere near as clean and reliable.
Find My Device in FDroid is FOSS and can be used via SMS and their website or even your self hosted one.
You may want to look into CerberusApp - I know, it’s controversial and not FOSS, but it works great for me.
I don’t know what Find My is like, but NextCloud has PhoneTrack and the corresponding Android app. Sessions can be made public. It’s a bit of a battery hog for me though.
I have a related question: Does anyone know an alternative to the AirTags? I suppose we need to wait for the Google alternative they’re already working on? But I somehow expect google services are needed on the device to make it work.
I know there are some bluetooth ones out there. But they only work in close proximity. And I once tried one and it needed a new coin cell battery every 6 weeks…
I know tiles exist but I don’t know if they are better than Apple’s stuff with regard to privacy. They do work on Android though.
I found something by Samsung, called a Galaxy SmartTag. They don’t seem to include privacy at all and only work with Samsung smartphones. So they won’t talk to my trusty de-googled GrapheneOS Pixel phone. But people expect Google to release their own alternative soon. I don’t think we know any details about them yet. I was just thinking… People seem to like the AirTags and they sell well. I could also find some use-cases for a (proper) Find-My network. Guess we’re going to find out soon. I think in theory there is nothing against end-to-end encrypting the location data. But I doubt Google chooses privacy as their unique selling point.
I’ve replaced Google Maps location sharing with Home Assistant, works great. I’ve set mine up to show the last 12 hrs history, so I get a nice path of where we’ve been that day.
Out of curiosity, how are you connecting your phone to home when you’re out? Are you exposing HA, vpn? What sensors do you have enabled in the companion app? Do you have high accuracy enabled? How’s your battery drain?
I use Nginx ProxyPass to expose HA. I know people who use the VPN feature of their internet routers.
But I myself just have a few sensors activated in the companion app.
I dont know find my on Apple. So not sure if This is what you look for, but I use find My device from fdroid store https://gitlab.com/Nulide/findmydevice You can whitelist phonenumbers from people you trust and if from their number a codeword is send to your phone via SMS, it autonatically sends an SMS with its location back. but i dont know it This is what you are Looking for and if its compatible with Apple…
Yeah I saw this on fdroid and got it set up. Sending a text to request location feels a little clunky to me but it looks like a solid option.
I’ve been using traccar. It’s more like a service for fleet management, but as a selfhosted alternative is as best as I was able to find.
Looks interesting. I already have a server set up so I could give it a try. I think I will wait a while to see if anyone suggests something a little easier.
google maps has location sharing, it works pretty well and it reminds you occasionally that you still have it on which is actually nice.
I would prefer not to use google services, but thanks for the suggestion.
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