Google has released its new feature Find My Device this week as an app available for Android devices. Find My Device will allow Android users to find their lost phone, tablet or related Android devices.
Business Insider reports that the Find My Device app uses bluetooth technology to find missing Android devices. The Verge explains that this is achieved by other Android devices relaying the lost device’s location to the app, where the user can see their lost device on a map.
How to activate Find My Device
You first need to download the Google Find My Device App and open it up. Log in with your preferred Google account and then your app opens up with your device now registered into the app. Now you can open up the Google Find My Device website to locate your missing device.
On the website, you log in with the same Google account you used for the app and your list of devices registered will pop up. On the left-hand side, you’ll see three options below your device: Play sound, secure device and factory reset device.
The sound option will cause your phone to create a loud noise so that you can find it in the vicinity. The secure device option ensures that your device is locked and the factory reset option can let you delete your data if you can’t find your device, per Google.
Business Insider reports that the data is encrypted and as you search for your lost device, only you can see your device’s location and no one else can.
Additional features for Android devices
Google explains that there are different ways the Find My Device feature can be used for Android devices:
- You can locate offline Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro devices.
- Everyday items besides your phone can soon be tracked on the app with the use of bluetooth tracker tags.
- If you own a Nest device, the app can help you locate lost items by showing how close it may be to any Nest devices.
- You can share registered items with other users so they can help find it if it goes missing.
The Find My Device feature also lets users know when their devices or tracker tags are being tracked by stalkers, per The Verge. This notification system can let both Android users and iPhone users know about the unwanted tracking.
This feature will be released globally, with its initial release occurring in the United States and Canada, according to Forbes. They also explain that the Nest feature and sharing access with other users are things the Apple’s Find My feature doesn’t have. Any Android device that runs Android 9 or later can use the Find My Device app.