In June 2021, the report said: Google wanted to push the Find My Device feature to the same level as Apple’s Find My network. The latter can track lost or stolen iPhone units, iPad tablets, Macs and AirTag trackers even when they are out of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth range. Surprisingly, Find My Network finds these devices even when they are turned off.
Soon Android devices around the world may form a network to help find lost or stolen Android or Wear OS devices
Google’s Find My Device only tracks phones that are signed into a Google account. The platform also cannot help others find lost or stolen devices. However, Google’s efforts to extend the functionality of the Find My Device feature continue. Google’s release notes for the December 2022 Play Store update ( Android Police) contains the following statement:
Google’s support page reveals Find My Device feature may be upgraded soon
this is, Google is working to enable Find My Device to track lost or stolen Android devices. With the updated Find My Device network, location services on other Android devices may help find other Android users’ missing handsets. The information is encrypted so only the owner of the “discovered” device knows its location. This network can also be used to find missing or stolen Wear OS devices.
With over 3 billion Android devices in circulation worldwide, the Find My Device network has plenty of coverage. If this sounds familiar, this is how Apple’s Find My network works. According to Apple itself, “Find My Network is an encrypted, anonymous network of hundreds of millions of Apple devices to help find devices and items.” What makes the Find My network work is Apple’s many active devices and encryption.
There is no official announcement regarding the Find My Device upgrade. I don’t know when this feature will be released. This is a big deal for Android users and deserves some kind of announcement from the company.
App Archive now automatically archives certain apps when your Android phone’s storage is low
The December Play Store update also added support for Android users in some states to store a digital copy of their driver’s license in Google Wallet. Additionally, in late November, Google began rolling out an app archive for his Android phone. This feature allows users to uninstall apps to free up space on their phones, but also allows app data to be saved on these devices. As a result, reinstalling the app gives the user exactly the same experience as before uninstalling.
And this month’s update adopts that feature and runs with it. Now, certain apps will be automatically archived if your phone storage space is low. This is good news for users with budget his Android handsets with limited amounts of native storage. The feature will appear in v33.5 on the Google Play Store, which went live last Monday.
To check which version of Google’s Android app storefront is running on your phone, open the Play Store app and tap your profile picture to the right of the search bar at the top of the screen. From the menu that appears, press . setting > almost You will see the Play Store version at the bottom of the screen. You will also see a green link that says “Update Play Store”. Tap it to refresh the Play Store. Or you will see a message that your phone already has the latest version of the software installed.
