Apple's 'Find My' feature: From couch to global phenomenon thanks to an intern

The ubiquitous "Find My" feature, a lifesaver for forgetful Apple users worldwide, owes its existence to a surprisingly simple problem: a misplaced phone on a couch.

This revelation came from Eddy Cue, Apple's senior vice president of services, in a recent interview with tech YouTuber SuperSaf. Cue revealed that the idea for the entire "Find My" ecosystem, now encompassing everything from devices to friends to luggage, originated with an intern.

"[It] started with the idea of somebody losing their phone on the couch," Cue said, highlighting the universal experience of momentarily misplacing one's phone. The intern's observation sparked the development of a solution that would evolve into a core feature of the Apple ecosystem.

Cue recalled early considerations, like the need to override silent mode for the feature to be effective. "I remember one of the first things was if you have your phone in silent mode, it better override silent mode, or you're not going to see it," he said.

The initial iteration, "Find My iPhone," debuted in 2009 at Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference and launched the following year. It became free for all users with the introduction of iCloud in 2011. Since then, "Find My" has expanded to encompass Macs, iPads, Apple Watches, and even personal items via AirTags.

Cue expressed pride in the feature's evolution: "Look at where it's led to. It went from Find My Friends to now AirTags because you're finding your suitcase somewhere in the airport."

The success of Apple's "Find My" has inspired similar features from competitors like Google. However, Cue emphasised the initial simplicity of the idea: "This is a great example of one where you go, 'Well sure, that's pretty easy. It didn't take a genius to think that.' But nobody thought of it until we did it."