The Google Android equivalent of Apple’s Find My network is officially here.
Google published a blog post on Monday revealing its new crowdsourced Find My Device network that can help Android users find their devices, including phones and tablets, even offline.
The network includes more than a billion devices, according to Google, and began rolling out to Android users in the United States and Canada on Monday on devices running Android 9+. Google plans a global launch.
Google Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro Android phones. Photo by ED JONES/AFP via Getty Images
Next month, users will be able to access the Find My Device network to locate tracker tags, which can be attached to easily lost items like keys or luggage. Google will begin supporting Bluetooth tags from Chipolo and Pebblebee in May, with additional support for tags from companies like Motorola and Eufy later this year.
The Find My Device network also works with Google Nest smart home devices by showing users how close their lost devices are to any Google smart home product.
The network matches Apple’s AirTag technology allowing users to share tagged devices with friends and family.
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Google’s Find My network has been a long time coming—the company first revealed plans for the feature last year. Apple announced its Find My network for iOS in 2019.
“We took our time when designing the new Find My Device,” Google acknowledged in the blog post, but said it used the time to consider data security and user safety when using the net.
Google and Apple collaborated in May 2023 on a cross-platform standard to alert users if they were being tracked, without them knowing.
Google’s release on Monday incorporated the joint industry standard developed by the two tech giants, meaning both Android and iPhone will now receive notifications about unknown trackers traveling with them.
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