If Someone in Your Circle
Switches to an iPhone
Raksha is now on the App Store as well as Google Play. Here's how to move a family member to their new iPhone, what carries across, and the few things that work a little differently on iOS.
Updated October 2026 · 4 min read
The Short Answer
They stay in the circle. Raksha is available on iPhone, so the person switching just installs Raksha from the App Store, signs in with the same phone number, and shows up on the family map again. Android and iPhone members share one circle, one map, and the same SOS alerts.
Moving Them Over, Step by Step
- On the new iPhone, install Raksha from the App Store.
- Sign in with the same mobile number they used on Android. Their place in the circle is tied to that number, so nobody has to re-invite them.
- Allow location access, and choose Always when iOS asks, so their location keeps updating when the app isn't open.
- Allow notifications, so SOS alerts and check-ins from the family reach them.
- Ask someone else in the circle to confirm the new iPhone shows up on their map with a fresh location.
Until they sign in on the iPhone, the circle shows wherever their old Android phone last reported, the same as any phone that's been switched off for a while. Nothing changes for anyone else in the circle in the meantime.
What Works Differently on iPhone
Live location, battery status, the family map, SOS, Ring and Lost Mode all work on iPhone. A couple of things don't, because Apple doesn't let apps do them:
- Flash and remote Lock are Android only. iOS doesn't let an app switch on the torch or lock the phone from a distance. These buttons stay available for the Android phones in your circle.
- Don't swipe Raksha away. If someone force-closes Raksha from the iPhone app switcher, iOS stops it updating in the background until it's opened again. Leaving it in the background, like any other app, is all it needs.
Old Phone Still Lying Around?
Sign out of Raksha on the old Android phone once the iPhone is set up. The circle follows the phone number, so an old phone that's still signed in can keep sending its own location under the same name. If the old phone is being handed down to someone else in the family, they sign in with their own number after that.