How to get the Find My Friends app back on iOS 7 or an old iPhone (installing old apps from the App Store)
Digging an old iPhone out of a drawer and discovering that Find My Friends is nowhere to be found is a familiar frustration. The App Store insists the app needs a newer iOS, and your iOS 7 device cannot update any further. Fortunately, Apple built a back door into the App Store for exactly this situation: if an older version of the app once existed, you can install the last compatible version instead of the current one. Here is how the trick works.
Why the App Store blocks the install
Every App Store listing declares a minimum iOS version. The current release of most apps requires a modern iOS, so on an iPhone running iOS 7 the store shows a warning that the app cannot be installed on this device. What the warning does not make obvious is the second sentence: the store offers to download the last compatible version. That prompt only appears when the developer left an older, compatible build on Apple’s servers — which, for a long-lived app like Find My Friends, is exactly what happened.
Installing the last compatible version of Find My Friends
Follow these steps exactly. You will need access to a second device running iOS 8 or newer for the first step — a friend’s iPhone or an iPad will do:
- Download the app on a newer device first. On a device running iOS 8 or newer, open the App Store signed in with your Apple ID and download Find My Friends. This registers the app in your purchase history, which is what unlocks the old version later.
- Sign in with the same Apple ID on the old iPhone. On the iPhone running iOS 7, go to Settings and make sure you are signed in with the exact same Apple ID you used in step one.
- Find the app under Purchased — or search for it. Open the App Store on the old iPhone, head to the Purchased section, and look for Find My Friends. Alternatively, search the store for “Find My Friends”.
- Accept the “last compatible version” prompt. The store warns that the current version can’t be installed on this iOS — and then offers to download the last compatible version. Accept, and the older build installs on your iOS 7 iPhone.
Note the key limitation: this trick only works if the developer left an older compatible version available on the App Store. If every build requires a newer iOS than your device runs, the prompt never appears. And one historical footnote: Apple later merged Find My Friends into the Find My app, so on modern devices you will not find the standalone app at all — MacRumors covered the transition when Apple consolidated its location-sharing tools.
If it still doesn’t work
If the Purchased section shows the app but no compatible-version prompt appears, the developer has pulled all old builds — there is no workaround short of a newer device. Also double-check that both devices use the same Apple ID; a family member’s purchase history will not unlock the old version for your account. For related housekeeping, see our guides on which built-in iPhone apps you can delete and how to completely block iOS 26 updates on iPhone.
Frequently asked questions
Does this work for any old app, not just Find My Friends?
Yes, the mechanism is general: any app whose developer kept an older build on the App Store can be installed this way. The Purchased-section route is the reliable path; direct search sometimes hides the prompt.
Why did Find My Friends disappear from the App Store?
Apple folded Find My Friends and Find My iPhone into a single Find My app. The standalone app is gone from the store, but the last compatible version trick still works for devices that predate the merger.
Conclusion
An old iPhone is not a dead iPhone. By downloading the app once on a newer device with your Apple ID and then accepting the last-compatible-version prompt on the iOS 7 device, you can bring Find My Friends back to life — a neat reminder that the App Store keeps history, not just the latest release.
