(Credit: Google)
A new update for Google's Find My Device will let people locate a lost Android smartphone even if it’s offline. It's part of a revamp for Android’s Find My Device system, which Google first announced at I/O 2023 and is finally rolling out to all devices today, starting with those in the US and Canada.
The main change is that Google has created a “crowdsourced network” of over a billion devices running Android 9.0 or higher, which can essentially ping your phone or tablet when in range. Previously, Find My Device mainly only worked for Android devices connected to the internet over Wi-Fi or a cellular network. But now the technology can also tap Bluetooth signals from neighboring electronics to pinpoint a device's real-time location.
"Our research found that the Find My Device network is most valuable in public settings like cafes and airports, where there are likely many devices nearby," the company said.
Another improvement for Find My Device is exclusive to Google's Pixel phones. "Pixel 8 and 8 Pro can now be found even if the battery is dead, as there is reserve power on the device for several hours that is channeled to the Bluetooth chip," according to Google.
Find My Device is available via an app and the web, enabling an owner to easily locate a lost Android phone or even remotely secure and wipe it. It's turned on by default for Android devices signed into a Google Account.
To further improve the system, Google will let users monitor their Bluetooth trackers through the Find My Device app. Starting in May, the app will support third-party trackers from Chipolo and Pebblebee before rolling out support to “additional Bluetooth tags from eufy, Jio, Motorola and more,” the company said.
(Credit: Google)Another enhancement involves helping people find a lost item when it's physically nearby. If this happens, the Find My Device app will show a prompt that’ll say how close the item is to someone's location. A future update will also allow the app to detect the locations of Bluetooth headsets from JBL, Sony, and other vendors.
The tracking may creep out the privacy-conscious, but Google says it designed Find My Device to prevent unwanted surveillance. This includes using end-to-end encryption to secure the Bluetooth-based location data.
“When Android devices participating in the network report the location of a Bluetooth tag, the location is end-to-end encrypted using a key that is only accessible to the Bluetooth tag owner and anyone the owner has shared the tag with in the Find My Device app,” the tech giant wrote in a separate blog post.
“Only the Bluetooth tag owner (and those they’ve chosen to share access with) can decrypt and view the tag’s location. With end-to-end encrypted location data, Google cannot decrypt, see, or otherwise use the location data,” the company added.
Users can also opt out from the Find My Device network.