Google’s “Find My Device” network is available

We have shared with you in the past weeks that the launch of Google’s long-awaited “Find My Device” network is almost happening. Google has now activated this network for Canada and the USA. The network in question will soon be available to Android users all over the world.

Like Apple’s Find My, the Android Find My Device network can use the millions of Android devices on the market to track down lost, stolen and missing Android products. A lost Android smartphone can ping nearby Android devices using Bluetooth and transmit location information back to its owner. At this point, it should be added that devices using Android 9 or later versions are included in the network.

Because the network uses Bluetooth, it works even when Android devices are offline and don’t have a cellular or Wi-Fi connection. Some devices, such as the Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro, can be found even when they are turned off or their batteries are dead. Find My offers the same feature for iPhones.

Starting in May, the Find My Device network will also work with Bluetooth trackers from companies like Chipolo and Pebblebee, allowing Android users to attach trackers to items to locate them with the Android network. While Google doesn’t design its own tracking devices, these third-party trackers will function the same way AirTags work.

Finally, let us underline that Google is working with Apple to prevent iPhone users from being tracked without their knowledge using this new network, and is working on a feature that allows both iPhone and Android users to receive alerts about nearby unknown tracking devices, regardless of the brand of the tracking device.

It is currently unclear when the Find My Device network will be activated worldwide.