Apple Find My

Best Self Hosted Alternatives to Apple Find My

A curated collection of the 2 best self hosted alternatives to Apple Find My.

Apple Find My is a location and device-tracking service that locates and rings Apple devices, AirTags, and compatible items using the crowdsourced Find My network, and enables location sharing with contacts and family members.

Alternatives List

#1
OwnTracks Recorder

OwnTracks Recorder

Lightweight OwnTracks location data recorder that ingests MQTT/HTTP publishes, stores them locally without an external DB, and exposes a REST/WebSocket API and web UI.

OwnTracks Recorder screenshot

OwnTracks Recorder is a lightweight service for collecting, storing, and retrieving location updates published by OwnTracks mobile apps. It ingests messages via MQTT subscriptions or HTTP POST, stores data locally on disk (without requiring an external database), and exposes the stored data through a built-in web server.

Key Features

  • Ingests OwnTracks location messages via MQTT or HTTP
  • Local on-disk storage with an embedded LMDB index (no separate database server required)
  • Built-in HTTP server with REST API for querying locations, tracks, and GeoJSON outputs
  • WebSocket interface for live updates (e.g., live map views)
  • Includes the ocat CLI to query and export stored data in different formats
  • Optional Lua hooks for event processing and customization
  • Optional payload encryption support (when built with libsodium)

Use Cases

  • Personal or family location history with a self-controlled storage backend
  • Live location dashboard fed from OwnTracks apps via MQTT
  • Exporting and analyzing historical tracks for devices/users

Limitations and Considerations

  • Designed specifically around the OwnTracks message format and workflow
  • HTTP mode can require additional configuration for multi-user “Friends” setups

OwnTracks Recorder is well-suited for reliable, low-resource location data collection on modest hardware while still providing convenient REST and real-time interfaces for visualization and integration.

1.1kstars
135forks
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#2
OwnTracks Frontend

OwnTracks Frontend

Open-source Vue.js single-page app that visualizes OwnTracks Recorder data: live locations, history, heatmaps, filtering and distance calculations.

OwnTracks Frontend screenshot

OwnTracks Frontend is an open-source Vue.js single-page application that provides an advanced web UI for the OwnTracks ecosystem. It connects to an OwnTracks Recorder API to display live device positions, historical tracks and aggregated visualizations.

Key Features

  • Live (last known) device locations with accuracy visualization and device-friendly icons
  • Detailed device metadata display (timestamp, latitude/longitude, altitude, battery, speed, regions) when available
  • Location history visualization as points, polyline tracks or combined views
  • Heatmap view for density analysis of tracked locations
  • Time-range selector and date/time filtering for focused data inspection
  • Filterable by user and by device; calculation of distance travelled for selected ranges
  • Highly configurable via a public config.js (includes API base URL and UI options)
  • Development tooling: Vue I18n support for locales, npm-based build, Vite dev server and linters
  • Official Docker image and docker-compose usage for easy deployment; nginx used as the static server in the image

Use Cases

  • Personal location diary: visualize and inspect your own location history and recent positions
  • Small fleet or family tracking: monitor multiple devices, view routes and find high-density areas with heatmaps
  • Developers and operators: integrate or troubleshoot OwnTracks Recorder data using a polished web UI and configurable API endpoint

Limitations and Considerations

  • The frontend is a visualization/UI component and requires an OwnTracks Recorder (or compatible HTTP API) to provide stored location data; it does not ingest MQTT messages or store tracking data itself
  • Map tiles or certain map provider features may require separate configuration or API keys depending on chosen map backend and hosting environment
  • Authentication and user management are typically provided by the backend/recorder; the frontend expects the API to handle access control if needed

OwnTracks Frontend is a focused visualization layer for the OwnTracks platform: it provides a configurable, locale-aware Vue.js interface to browse live positions, historical tracks and heatmaps backed by an OwnTracks Recorder API. It is suitable for personal use, small fleets and as a developer-facing UI component.

509stars
64forks
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Why choose an open source alternative?

  • •Data ownership: Keep your data on your own servers
  • •No vendor lock-in: Freedom to switch or modify at any time
  • •Cost savings: Reduce or eliminate subscription fees
  • •Transparency: Audit the code and know exactly what's running