GOOGLE is reportedly prepping users of Android devices for an upgraded Find My Device network. The new settings panel has been appearing for a few users with a beta release of Google Play Services, but they can not opt-in to use at the moment.
Announced last year, the upgraded network will use encrypted location data from other Android phones for tracking, but it has been delayed until Apple updates its tracking protection, which could be coming in iOS 17.5.
The Find My Device feature is something that Google has had in the pipeline for a while now and the development time is owed to how it is supposed to work.
For the feature to fully function, offline Android devices need a specific kind of Bluetooth controller and hardware for it to broadcast a signal.
For those with access to the beta version of Google Play Services, they can see the Find My Device on their devices. This group has said that the settings are “off”, “without network”, “with network in high-traffic areas only” and “with network in all areas”.
Speculation is that the rollout may be tied to Google Play Services beta version version 24.12.14, while others claim it can be seen in Play Services version 24.10.59.
Devices that can enable the feature will see the new option under Security > Security & privacy > Device finders > Find My Device.
