On top of the already available iOS features that help users track their lost or stolen iPhones and iPads, iOS 8 will have additional iCloud tweaks to help Apple customers recover their devices.
According to AppleInsider reports, a new setting called Send Last Location under the Find My iPhone iCloud section in iOS 8 will let users send the last known location of an iPhone or iPad to Apple when the battery drains to a critical level, and access it in case they’d need it.
Of note, this setting will continuously send iOS device locations to Apple as these devices run out of battery, and it is not known how long Apple will retain the location data it receives.
But the feature should help users better track their phones’ and tablets’ last locations once they’re lost, as long as the setting is enabled in iOS 8.
While the Send Last Location setting can be toggled on and off in iOS 8 beta 1, it’s not clear whether the service behind it is actually running at this point.
Beyond that, the new Family Sharing features in iOS 8 will let users track their family members on a map, which is similar to what the existing Find My Friends app can do, but it will also locate iOS devices belonging to other family members, which could come in handy particularly in case a device is stolen.
“Finding your family’s lost devices is even easier now that everyone can help. With the Find My iPhone app, family members can use their devices to locate one that’s lost and have it play a sound (even if the ringer is turned off),” Apple says.
Images showing the Send Last Location and the Family Sharing device location finder feature follow below.
