 | |
| Developer(s) | |
|---|---|
| Initial release | August 2, 2013 |
| Operating system | Android, web |
| Type | Asset tracking |
| Website | www |
Find My Device (also known as Find Device) is an asset tracking service provided by Google to remotely trace, locate and wipe devices that are compatible with the Find My Device network. It was initially launched on the 2nd of August 2013 [1] .
Find My Device locates and traces missing Android-powered smartphones, tablets, headphones/earphones, and Wear OS-powered smartwatches. Users have options to play a sound at maximum volume for 5 minutes, secure the device & force it to sign out of its associated Google Account, or erase the device entirely, including sensitive cards such as keys and IDs in Wallet. [2]
In April 2024, an expanded Find My Device network launched, [3] enabling the crowdsourcing of data from Android phones & tablets to assist in finding other devices on the network via Bluetooth. This has allowed for offline finding, as well as support for more items on the service, such as tracker tags initially from Chipolo and Pebblebee. These trackers are marked as supporting Google's Find My Device network via a badge on their product marketing. The Find My Device network was announced in Google I/O 2023, to be released in July in the same year, before being delayed awaiting a new industry specification aimed to prevent unwanted tracking. [4] A draft of this specification was released in December 2023, and has been implemented in iOS 17.5. [5] [6]
The expanded network implements several safety systems. [7] The DULT specification allowed for unknown tracker alerts on Apple devices for Find My Device network trackers, while alerts for Apple Find My trackers on Android devices was launched in summer 2023. In both cases, users are able to disable, ring or see information about the tracker. [4] [6]
The landscape for instant messaging involves cross-platform instant messaging clients that can handle one or multiple protocols. Clients that use the same protocol can typically federate and talk to one another. The following table compares general and technical information for cross-platform instant messaging clients in active development, each of which have their own article that provide further information.
Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panoramic views of streets, real-time traffic conditions, and route planning for traveling by foot, car, bike, air and public transportation. As of 2020, Google Maps was being used by over one billion people every month around the world.
Android is a mobile operating system based on a modified version of the Linux kernel and other open-source software, designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets. Android is developed by a consortium of developers known as the Open Handset Alliance, though its most widely used version is primarily developed by Google. It was unveiled in November 2007, with the first commercial Android device, the HTC Dream, being launched in September 2008.
A mobile operating system is an operating system used for smartphones, tablets, smartwatches, smartglasses, or other non-laptop personal mobile computing devices. While computers such as typical/mobile laptops are "mobile", the operating systems used on them are generally not considered mobile, as they were originally designed for desktop computers that historically did not have or need specific mobile features. This line distinguishing mobile and other forms has become blurred in recent years, due to the fact that newer devices have become smaller and more mobile unlike hardware of the past. Key notabilities blurring this line are the introduction of tablet computers, light-weight laptops, and the hybridization of the two in 2-in-1 PCs.
Rich Communication Services (RCS) is a communication protocol between mobile telephone carriers and between phone and carrier, aiming at replacing SMS messages with a text-message system that is richer, provides phonebook polling, and can transmit in-call multimedia. It is part of the broader IP Multimedia Subsystem. Google has added support for end-to-end encryption for all chats using RCS in their own app, Google Messages. End-to-end encryption is not a feature of RCS specified by GSMA, instead deferring to the individual messaging clients to establish encryption.
Google Chrome is a web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS, iOS, and also for Android, where it is the default browser. The browser is also the main component of ChromeOS, where it serves as the platform for web applications.
iMessage is an instant messaging service developed by Apple Inc. and launched in 2011. iMessage functions exclusively on Apple platforms – including macOS, iOS, iPadOS, and watchOS – as part of Apple's broader strategic approach to inter device integration, sometimes referred to as the Apple Eco-System.
The Nexus 10 is a tablet computer co-developed by Google and Samsung Electronics that runs the Android operating system. It is the second tablet in the Google Nexus series, a family of Android consumer devices marketed by Google and built by an OEM partner. Following the success of the 7-inch Nexus 7, the first Google Nexus tablet, the Nexus 10 was released with a 10.1-inch, 2560×1600 pixel display, which was the world's highest resolution tablet display at the time of its release. The Nexus 10 was announced on October 29, 2012, and became available on November 13, 2012.
Ubuntu Touch is a mobile version of the Ubuntu operating system, being developed by the UBports community. Its user interface is written in Qt, and is designed primarily for touchscreen mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers, but the original goal of convergence was intended to bring Ubuntu Touch to laptops, desktops, IOT devices and TVs for a complete unified user experience.
CarPlay, or Apple CarPlay is an Apple standard that enables a car radio or head unit to be a display and controller for an iOS device. It is available on iPhone 5 and later models running iOS 7.1 or later.
Fire OS is a mobile operating system based on the Android Open Source Project (AOSP). It is developed by Amazon for their devices. Fire OS includes proprietary software, a customized user interface primarily centered on content consumption, and heavy ties to content available from Amazon's storefronts and services.
Firefox Focus is a free and open-source privacy-focused mobile browser by Mozilla, based on Firefox. It is available for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. Its predecessor, Focus by Firefox, was released in December 2015 as a tracker-blocking application which worked only in conjunction with the Safari mobile browser on iOS. It was developed into a minimalist web browser in 2016 but retained this background blocking functionality. The Android version of the browser was first released in June 2017 and was downloaded over one million times in the first month. As of January 2017, it was available in 27 languages. The version released for German-speaking countries has telemetry disabled and is named Firefox Klar to avoid ambiguity with the German news magazine FOCUS.
LineageOS is an Android-based operating system for smartphones, tablet computers, and set-top boxes, with mostly free and open-source software. It is the successor to CyanogenMod, from which it was forked in December 2016, when Cyanogen Inc. announced it was discontinuing development and shut down the infrastructure behind the project. Since Cyanogen Inc. retained the rights to the Cyanogen name, the project rebranded its fork as LineageOS.
Google Pay is a mobile payment service developed by Google to power in-app, online, and in-person contactless purchases on mobile devices, enabling users to make payments with Android phones, tablets, or watches. Users can authenticate via a PIN, passcode, or biometrics such as 3D face scanning or fingerprint recognition.
Find My is an asset tracking service made by Apple Inc. that enables users to track the location of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, watchOS devices, AirPods, AirTags and a number of supported third-party accessories through a connected iCloud account. Users can also share their GPS locations to others with Apple devices and view the location of others who choose to share their location. Find My was released alongside iOS 13 on September 19, 2019, merging the functions of the former Find My iPhone and Find My Friends into a single app. On watchOS, Find My is separated into three different applications: Find Devices, Find People and Find Items.
AirPods Pro are wireless Bluetooth in-ear headphones designed by Apple, initially introduced on October 30, 2019. They are Apple's mid-range wireless headphones, available alongside the base-level AirPods and the highest-end AirPods Max.
COVID-19 apps include mobile-software applications for digital contact-tracing - i.e. the process of identifying persons ("contacts") who may have been in contact with an infected individual - deployed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
AirTag is a tracking device developed by Apple. AirTag is designed to act as a key finder, which helps people find personal objects. To locate lost items, AirTags use Apple's crowdsourced Find My network, estimated in early 2021 to consist of approximately one billion devices worldwide that detect and anonymously report emitted Bluetooth signals. AirTags are compatible with any iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch device capable of running iOS/iPadOS 14.5 or later, including iPhone 6S or later. Using the built-in U1 chip on iPhone 11 or later, users can more precisely locate items using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology. AirTag was announced on April 20, 2021, made available for pre-order on April 23, and released on April 30.
The (Google/Apple) Exposure Notification System (GAEN) is a framework and protocol specification developed by Apple Inc. and Google to facilitate digital contact tracing during the COVID-19 pandemic. When used by health authorities, it augments more traditional contact tracing techniques by automatically logging close approaches among notification system users using Android or iOS smartphones. Exposure Notification is a decentralized reporting protocol built on a combination of Bluetooth Low Energy technology and privacy-preserving cryptography. It is an opt-in feature within COVID-19 apps developed and published by authorized health authorities. Unveiled on April 10, 2020, it was made available on iOS on May 20, 2020 as part of the iOS 13.5 update and on December 14, 2020 as part of the iOS 12.5 update for older iPhones. On Android, it was added to devices via a Google Play Services update, supporting all versions since Android Marshmallow.
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