#News

Date: April 09, 2024

Google has officially announced the launch of its long-awaited Find My Device network. This will help all Android users to find their devices easily.

Yesterday, Google made an official announcement that can change the security outlook of its global user base. The tech giant has launched its global Find My Device Network, turning it on for the US and Canada. The feature will soon expand its accessibility to other countries. All devices running Android 9 or later can turn on Google’s Find My Device network to secure their smartphones, Android devices, and geo-tagged items.

The Find My Device network is now one of the largest networks, comprising nearly 1 billion devices worldwide. This robust network will strengthen the connectivity to find your lost device, even when they are offline. Google’s in-house Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro smartphones will provide location tracking of the device even when the battery runs empty due to a new specialized Pixel hardware.

Google is crowdsourcing the connected device tracker network to aggregate the maximum number of devices and find them using a single Android feature. From May onwards, Chipolo and Pebblebee's Bluetooth tracker tags will be built to be compatible with the new Find My Device network. These devices will also come with unknown tracker alerts to prevent unwanted device tracking. Currently, the features are available only on Android devices, but iOS will start enabling this feature from iOS 17.5 onwards. 

JBL, Sony, and other smart device makers are also updating their software to integrate with the Find My Device network. The location information of devices is end-to-end encrypted, and even Google does not have access to it. Its aggregated device location reporting is a first-of-its-kind feature that provides multiple layers of protection from unknown tracking back to a home or private location.

The feature will provide real-time location tracking for online devices and collect information from the crowdsourced Find My Device network devices nearby for offline devices. Find My Device collects and processes data to provide, maintain, and improve its services in accordance with the Google Privacy Policy. The Find My Device feature can also erase data from the lost Android device. 

The latest feature uses two network modes to locate devices: network and Bluetooth. While a Network connection is required to accurately collect location information of smart devices, Bluetooth is required to find offline devices like wallet tracker tags, keys, and other items. By turning on the Find My Device feature, your Android device can help others find lost items.

By Arpit Dubey

Arpit is a dreamer, wanderer, and a tech nerd who loves to jot down tech musings and updates. With a logician mind, he is always chasing sunrises and tech advancements while secretly preparing for the robot uprising.