by iOS 8 introduces a new feature to the Find my iPhone and Find my iPad functionality on iOS devices, allowing users to select a “Send Last Location” option that will notify Apple of a device’s last known location when the battery drains to a critical level.
Currently, if a device is lost with Find My iPhone on and the battery drains and it cannot be located, iCloud will display the last known location for up to 24 hours, but after that, there is no way for end users to determine the last location of a device.
It appears this new Find My iPhone feature will authorize Apple to store the last known location of an iOS device after 24 hours have passed, potentially allowing customers to contact the company for location information after it is no longer available on iCloud.
The new option can be found in the iCloud section of the Settings app, listed under a new entry for Find My iPhone (or iPad). Tapping on Find My iPhone gives an option to enable the feature and to enable Send Last Location. With iOS 7, Find My iPhone was bundled into the rest of the iCloud settings, with a simple toggle to turn the feature on and off.
(Thanks, John!)
