Google: ‘Find my device’ network activated in Germany

"Find my device": Google's localization service for devices and tags is now available in Germany. Over the course of the week, many Android users have received a message that the service will be activated shortly. Anyone who has not logged out is now part of the search network.

With the new notifications on Android smartphones, Google indicates that the device is now participating in the service. A link points in the direction of "Settings" – "Google | Google services". Below this is the configuration for "Find my device".

The Find My Device network can be used with an app to be installed or via the web. Google has expanded this so that it is now also possible to search for offline devices.

By default, Google adds your own smartphone and other connected Bluetooth devices. In this specific example, this includes a smartwatch or certain wireless headphones. However, not all of them: Samsung Galaxy Buds Lights or FE did not end up in the location network. Samsung offers a separate app for this purpose - a little unattractive, as very few people would probably want to use two apps to locate different devices.

You need to log in to open the "Find my device" app. It then lists the devices linked to your account. If you tap on an entry, you switch to a map view where the device was last detected and reported by an Android smartphone.

"Find my device": Everything is safe

Google points out that it protects the data and cannot view it itself. The "Find My Device" network uses end-to-end encryption "with a unique key that only you can access with your Android device's PIN, pattern or password". This is the same process that is used for Google's password manager. The location information can therefore only be viewed by users themselves or by those for whom the data has been shared in "Find my device".

By default, the option for the Android smartphone to "Participate with network only in high traffic locations" is active. This means that Google only discloses location information on devices if it has been reported by several devices. This means that lost devices can be found quickly at airports or hotels, for example, whereas devices lost in more isolated areas can be found later or not at all. The "With network in all locations" option, which is also available, provides location information even if only the own device has reported a day or a device to the network. This allows devices to be found more quickly even in less frequented locations. The difference in locating with aggregated data from several reporting devices lies in the better protection of your own data with regard to location information, explains Google.

Google is now delivering what Apple already introduced five years ago: The location of offline items. As the Android device base is significantly larger, the network for locating lost devices should work well very early on. Whether Google's "Find My Device" network is better protected against potential data smuggling than Apple's "Where Is" is still unclear. IT security expert Fabian Bräunlein demonstrated last November that Apple's network can be misused to smuggle out information using a keylogger keyboard.

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(dmk)