Google launches "Find My Device" network in the US and Canada
Google has announced the launch of its new Find My Device feature. This feature allows users to localise their devices based on their last known location. Now, if you lose your phone, keys or headphones, Google can help you out.
Here's What We Know
Previously, a separate app or website was used to track the location of Android devices that were logged into your Google account. These showed the phone's last recorded location with pretty good accuracy. However, the new Find My Device network is much more convenient and accurate. Unlike the previous feature, the new network doesn't require the lost device to be connected to the internet. Instead, it will use other Android phones as a network. These devices will connect and communicate with other devices via Bluetooth.
So, if you left your phone in a coffee shop and are trying to find it, other devices in the coffee shop will be able to contact your phone and locate it. The surrounding phones will then notify Google of your phone's location.
Find My Device will no longer be limited to finding only smartphones or tablets. From May, the new network will be able to find any item if it's equipped with a Bluetooth tracker, such as Chipolo and Pebblebee.
Google claims that your Android smartphone helps the Find My Device network in the background without compromising your privacy. Google claims the network uses end-to-end encryption of your location data and first-of-its-kind aggregated location reports, making it difficult for unwanted tracking in a private location. It was a task the company worked on with Apple before officially launching the service after its unveiling.
Find My Device has launched in the US and Canada since Monday. Android 9 and higher systems are supported. This will cover over a billion Android devices and that number will only grow over time. Google is also touting the imminent support for headphones like JBL, Sony and others that will soon join the Find My Device network.
Source: Google