Apple’s Find My network expanding to South Korea in the spring of 2025
People in South Korea will be able to use Apple’s Find My software on iOS, iPadOS, macOS and Web to track their devices for the first time.
Koreans have never been able to use Find My to locate lost Apple hardware, which is a bummer. The situation also inconvenienced folks from abroad who found themselves in the same boat after losing their device in South Korea.
Find My will launch in South Korea in the spring of 2025, according to the Apple Newsroom announcement. The full range of features will be available to local customers, including separation alerts, Lost Mode, Precision Finding, etc.
South Korean owners will be able to check the locations of their Apple devices, personal belonging attached to AirTags or third-party trackers, as well as their friends and family, using the Find My app on the iPhone, iPad, Mac, the Find Devices and Find Items apps on the Apple Watch, plus the web app at icloud.com/find.
Why has Find My been off-limits in South Korea?
I presumed Find My was available in all Apple markets, especially in high-tech countries like South Korea. However, I learned that strict local privacy laws got in the way, as Apple wasn’t allowed to send high-precision map data overseas.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation rejected the iPhone maker’s request to export mapping data with a scale of 1:5,000 from the National Geographic Information Institute. The South Korean government rejected similar requests from Google on multiple occasions. The government only allows the exportation of 1:25,000 scaled map data, Yonhap News Agency reported in 2023.
South Korean Apple owners didn’t like the government’s stance, so an online petition was launched to permit the Find My network and services. Having realized the petition quickly secured more than 9000 signatures, the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) has decided to allow Apple to bring Find My to the country.
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2024/09/05/find-my-south-korea-spring-2025-official/
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