Summary
- Find My Device app getting upgraded with biometric unlock support for quicker access.
- “Don’t ask again” option in app may pose privacy risk if enabled without caution.
- Remote Lock feature to make locking lost Android phones easier with security challenge.
The Find My Device app plays a key role in helping you find your lost or misplaced devices from your Android phone. Following the rollout of the Find My Device network, it will now play an ever bigger role, allowing you to track tagged items and other compatible devices. But you must enter your Google account password whenever you want to use the app. While this is an important safety measure, it significantly slows things down. Google plans to simplify this process by adding biometric unlock support to the Find My Device app.
How to find your Android phone if you lost it
Don’t sweat when you lose access to your Android phone
Right now, when you log into the Find My Device app, you get the “Don’t ask again” option. If enabled, the app will not prompt you for a password again, allowing you to use it quickly the next time without additional verification. This can pose a privacy risk, though, as anyone with access to your phone can check the location of your tagged devices through the Find My Device app.
Left: Current Find My Device login screen; Right: With the Biometric login option enabled
To solve this problem, Google will apparently add a new “Allow Biometric login” option to the app. As the name indicates, once enabled, you will verify your identity through biometric verification on your phone. Android Authority contributor AssembleDebug activated the option in the latest Find My Device release on his phone, indicating it is almost ready for public release.
Remote Lock could make locking your lost Android phone easier
Additionally, Google is working on a new Remote Lock functionality, which should make it easier to lock your lost phone. Currently, if you lose your Android phone, you can use the Find My Device app on your friend’s phone to lock it. But this requires you to remember the login credentials of your Google account. This could be an issue, especially if you use a password manager or have switched over to a passkey for your Google account.
With Remote Lock, you can apparently lock the screen of your lost or misplaced phone by entering your phone number and solving a security challenge. The feature will seemingly roll out as a part of a Google Play Services update later this year and will be available for Android 10+ devices.
