Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
TL; DR
- Android's Find My Device app manages logged-in Android devices and will soon become the hub for tracking Android trackers as well.
- Users currently need to log into the app with their account password every time they want to manage their devices. Soon they will be able to use a biometric login to log into the app.
- The biometric login feature is not currently live, but may be rolled out in the future.
Android has been upgraded Find my device network is here, and we are also about to receive Android trackers that would compete with AirTags. You can manage all this via the updated Find My Device app on Android devices, marking it as an essential piece of the puzzle. However, the Find My Device app tends to slow down logins by requiring frequent account passwords, which can quickly become annoying for many people. Google is exploring other ways to make the process easier, and biometric unlocks could be the key to the puzzle.
Currently, the Find My Device app requires your account password every time you open it. You can use the 'Don't ask again' option to avoid needing a password, but the upshot is that anyone with access to your unlocked phone can access the 'Find My Device' features of all your listed devices.
Android Authority contributor Assemble Debug has managed to enable a biometric login option for the updated Find My Device app.
Biometric unlocking is a great middle ground between security and convenience, as it adds a layer of authentication to the app that isn't too cumbersome. So even if someone gets access to your unlocked phone, he or she won't be able to mess with the rest of your Android devices and trackers without making it difficult for you to do so. This will become even more important once the upgraded Find My Device network is fully rolled out globally and Android trackers become commonplace.
Android Authority contributor Assemble Debug also managed to enable remote locking functionality within the latest Google Play Services. Find My Device has allowed you to lock and wipe your phone for years, but the new Remote Lock functionality lets you lock your device with just your phone number and a quick security challenge from any device. The feature we enabled doesn't actually work as the rollout is still planned for some time in the future, but you can see the screen in action.
The new Remote Lock feature should reduce people's stress when they lose their device and realize they won't immediately remember their account details. Remote Lock will be available later this year for devices running Android 10 and higher via a Google Play Services update.
Both new features are currently not live in the app. Google is currently testing them in the app, so they may be rolled out soon.