Now, Google shows indoor building layouts to find lost devices
What's the story
Starting today, Google will offer indoor layouts of large buildings to help Android users find their lost devices. Essentially, the search giant has updated its 'Find My Device' Play Protect service to show indoor maps, which will help users pin down a more precise location of their device. The feature comes with version 2.3 of the app and is available right away. Here's how.
Find My Device
What is Find My Device?
'Find My Device' is an app and web-based service designed for tracking, locating, locking, and erasing lost Android devices (phones, tablets, smartwatches). It has been around for quite a while, but now, with Google's massive collection of indoor maps, it's getting better. The search giant has been using this data to help users find their way around large public spaces.
Tracking
How the app would provide indoor location
Going by the changelog of the latest version, Find My Device should give a more precise indoor location of where you might have dropped your phone. This won't guarantee that you'll find the device but will narrow down the search zone by a small bit. For instance, it would direct you to Cafe Coffee Day of a particular mall rather than the whole mall.
Locations
What are the covered locations?
Google has not listed specific buildings but has stressed that the feature would help users find their phones in "airports, malls, or other large buildings." This means you should be able to use it in most commercial places, rather than private properties like your friend's home or workplace. Apart from this, the app is also getting support for work profiles and some visual tweaks.