7 mo. ago • 95%

Google’s expanded Find My Device network might arrive in a few days

www.theverge.com Google’s expanded Find My Device network might arrive in a few days

Google’s new network works like Apple’s Find My setup on iPhones.

23 comments

I can't wait to turn that shit off.

22
- Couldn't you be tracked by other phones nearby?
  
  0
This time! This time it's really happening!

(maybe)

11
There is a much more sinister issue that Google is trying to resolve with this: it's currently possible to stalk somebody by placing a tracker fob in their bag or on their car, so long as you know the victim's device doesn't support it.

Suppose some creeper with an iPhone is stalking a victim with an Android phone. So long as they use an Apple AirTag, the victim will never know they have a tracker trailing them wherever they go. And in reverse, the issue is the same.

Apple isn't concerned about this, because they hold a monopoly in the market they care most about and can leverage this as an iPhone-only feature. After all, so long as you have an iPhone, you'll be warned about an AirTag you don't own following you. Apple wants to leverage this as an exclusive safety feature and have no intention of allowing other devices to do the same.

Apologies for providing this background as I know that this goes against the circle jerk of accusing Google of infringing our privacy. Feel free to disregard this context of it being beneficial to our collective privacy.

9
- This is not correct. Android devices can detect apple's air tags and alert users when an unauthorized tag is nearby. Google delayed the launch of their network to wait for Apple to implement the same feature for Android compatible tags, which is finally coming in the next iOS update.
  
  19
  
  Android has no way of knowing if a tag is "unauthorized" because Apple does not provision access to their tag network. You could, in principle, ignore tags that you know about, but you'd have to do it by identifying it by some arbitrary hexadecimal GATT ID.
  
  As always, Apple wants to keep it that way, because it gives a poor experience on Android.
  
  Theoretically (and I might be wrong about this), without attempting to reverse engineer how Apple assigns these codes, there would be no to differentiate AirTags, AirPods, iPhones, etc.
  
  -2
good - there's far more andoid phones than there are iphones - the fobs will be far more accurate

7
- Depends on what country you're in.
  
  3
  
  Technically, I guess. Any country that's not US will do.
  
  3
Can't wait to add another tracker to the ol' keyring 😅

5
- Am I misunderstanding, is this not that? My understanding is the this will allow you to find devices other than your phone--tablets, earbuds, etc--by triangulating the location using not just your own phone but all Android phones local enough to detect the device being sought.
  
  8
  
  Yep, but as Google's network (which would be the most comprehensive) is not yet ready, I'm using the next best thing: both Samsung and Apple's - combined.
  
  Note: I don't live in a country where Tiled is sold or used too often, so they're a no-go.
  
  2
Cool, looks like no more Bluetooth anything for me...

4
Fuck their shit

1
- I'm usually not one to kink shame but...
  
  1

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