Although Bluetooth trackers have made it easier to find your keys or backpack, they have also provided people a cunning way to abuse them. Both Google and Apple have implemented warnings to let you know when there are unknown trackers in your area in an effort to combat this. Google is now going one step further with a new update that lets Android users locate such trackers precisely.
Two new features are being released by Google for its Find My Device network. “Temporarily Pause Location,” the first option, is intended to be used in response to an unknown tracker notification. In order to stop any detected unknown tag from exploiting your device’s location during that period, you can now pause location updates from your phone for up to 24 hours.
The second, “Find Nearby,” helps you locate the tracker when you’re having trouble hearing or seeing it. You can view a map that shows where the tracker was last moving with you by pressing on the notification for an unknown tracker. You can then use a sound to help you find it—don’t worry, the owner won’t be alerted. If that doesn’t work, the “Find Nearby” feature uses Bluetooth to link your phone to the tracker, displaying a form that enlarges as you approach.
With the extra advantage that you don’t require your own tracker or Find My Device, this application functions just like Google’s functionality for finding trackers and devices you own. Any smartphone running Android 6.0 or later may safely handle untrusted Bluetooth trackers, just like with the original notifications functionality.
“Find Nearby” seems to be the last component needed to prevent Bluetooth tracker abuse, a problem Apple has already addressed with Precision Finding for AirTags. Apple and Google collaborated back in May 2024 to introduce a common standard that enables users to identify unwanted Bluetooth trackers on both iOS and Android devices. Just one month prior, in April, Google’s Find My Device network was launched.
