Apple has started supporting the 'Find My' feature in Korea through the iOS 18.4 beta version. It is expected that domestic users will be able to track their lost Apple devices and use it to prevent theft.
'Find My' is a device location tracking service provided by Apple. It uses the Internet and short-range wireless communication to display the location of a distant device on a map or provide a precise search function to users who approach it. In Korea, this function is supported starting from iOS 18.4 Developer Beta 1. The 'Find My' app was already installed by default, but the actual function was limited. It has been confirmed that it works normally in Korea through this update.
Apple has not supported this feature in Korea for a long time. The industry has raised the possibility that it is due to laws related to location information protection and use. According to this law, location information service providers must keep location information access records for at least 6 months, but Apple has been destroying information within 24 hours according to its privacy policy. Accordingly, it seems that there may have been a conflict with domestic laws.
Previously, Apple cited legal regulations in Korea as the reason, but the relevant ministries, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Communications Commission, stated that there were no regulations restricting this. Accordingly, Apple’s announcement of the domestic introduction of the ‘Find My’ feature in September of last year without any official explanation is drawing attention.
The official version of iOS 18.4 is scheduled to be released in April. Some beta users have raised issues such as device information not being displayed accurately, so improvements are likely to be needed before the official release. In addition to the Find My feature, this update includes support for the Korean language for Apple's AI system, Apple Intelligence.
