Google takes another step towards launching its Find My Device network
Google has been working on a Find My Device network, similar to Apple’s excellent Find My tracking service, for more than a year. Signs of thenetwork first emerged in 2021, with the companyteasing the featurewith the December 2022 Play system update. The feature will allow you to find your lost or stolen Android device or compatible accessories even when they are not connected to the internet. As a part of the feature, Google would be encrypting and storing the most recent location of your device. Ahead of the network’s official launch, the company is rolling out a ‘Store recent location’ toggle for Find My Device.
As the name of the toggle indicates, you can use it to enable (or prevent) Google from storing the last known location of your phones and compatible accessories. The data will be encrypted ensuring no one but you can see the location coordinates of your device. Samsung’sFind My Mobile feature for its Galaxy deviceshas a similar “Send last location” toggle. The option ensures that the phone automatically sends its last location to the company’s servers when its battery drops below a certain level.
As reported earlier, Google also intends toexpand Find My Device’s tracking capabilities to Fast Pair accessorieslater this year. Right now, you can only track Fast Pair accessories using the app as long as they are connected to your phone. The company wants to change this and bring offline tracking to them as well.
Google recently rolled out along overdue update for the Find My Device app, complete with the Material You redesign. The release of the supercharged Find My Device network could be linked to it. So, expect the company to make an official announcement about the upgraded network sooner than later.
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