One of the key features of any cell phone –be it Android or iOS- is the one that, in the event of theft or loss, allows find your location. In recent years, while Apple improved its locator, Google was losing ground. Until now: Android just announced a new search method.
Until now, this feature allowed you to find the device as long as it was turned on. The main novelty is that it is no longer necessary for the smartphone to be on: now the phone can be found even when it is turned off.
To do this, the phone must have the necessary hardware to reserve certain battery level to maintain Bluetooth connectivity even if you no longer have enough to power the device. This battery “reserve” provides autonomy for a few hours.
As with iPhones, Android terminals will also have access to a joint network that, even if they have no connection or is turned off, it will be possible to carry out this process in a better way.
The location system operates anonymously and private and it is the same concept that Apple’s Find My offers that is also used with AirTags, but with Android phones instead of iPhone.
This information related to the location, as collected by Google on its blog, is encrypted end-to-end to protect consumer security.
Although it arrives several years late, Google has not had all the stars lit when launching this location network, because it has had to wait for Apple to implement protection against tracking.
This free service will arrive first in the United States and Canada, but Google has announced that it will be implemented on Android devices around the world, which also includes Argentina, to be part of this collaborative network.
How the Android cell phone network operates
According to data from the person responsible for the software, it is more than billion of devices. Although initially, it is compatible with the Google Pixel 8 and 8 Pro and, in fact, it should already be active for users regardless of their Android version.
In addition, all mobile phones with Android 9 or higher will contribute information to this location network, being more than enough to generate information about any type of device that is lost.
Another relevant fact is that this new network will exponentially improve the way of finding a lost device. From the Find my device app itself, you can access a list of all phones that are registered in the Google account, and clicking on each one will take you to a more detailed view.
Not everyone has the same possibilities, since mobile phones are capable of ringing, and it is also possible to erase them remotely.
Among the options that come with this update is sharing devices with other people so that they can also locate them more easily to find a device when one is nearby: with a graph that shows proximity and indications based on other smart devices such as “It’s next to the Google Home.”