Google has updated its Find My Device app to include a ‘People’ feature that allows users to view the real-time locations of approved contacts. This update (which is a part of the March Pixel Drop) enables you to see your contacts’ current positions on a map, along with their addresses, the distance from your location, and the time since their information was last refreshed. According to a report by 9to5Google, the update began rolling out earlier this month and is now available on Android phones.
The feature integrates with Google’s existing location-sharing services, providing a unified map view within the Find My Device app. In simple words, you can view your friends, family, or other contacts who are sharing their location with you through the app, and you can see those who you have given access to your location in return.
Clearly, this feature enhances the app’s functionality, allowing you to not only locate your own devices but also keep track of other persons (who are sharing their location with you).
To use this feature, ensure your Find My Device app is updated to the latest version. Once updated, open the Find My Device app on your Android device and tap the new ‘People’ tab. Now, you’ll see a list of contacts who have shared their location with you, along with their current whereabouts on the map. Even, you can also manage your own location-sharing settings from the same tab.
Considering privacy and safety, the company designed this feature so that users can decide who can see their location and for how long. Google also provides regular reminders about sharing settings to ensure privacy. Notably, this new update positions Google’s Find My Device app more closely with Apple’s Find My app, which also offers a similar split-screen interface that displays a map alongside options to view devices or people.
However, this new update becomes noteworthy considering Google’s Find My Device app has reached 740 million downloads on the Google Play Store as of March 2025. Initially launched in 2015 as Android Device Manager, it was later rebranded to Find My Device in 2017. This app allows users to locate, secure, or erase lost Android devices, including phones, tablets, headphones, smartwatches, and other accessories, even if they are offline.
Meanwhile, recently, the search giant also introduced an AI-powered feature in its Android 15 operating system that enhances the security of the Google ‘Messages’ app by detecting scam messages in real-time. This functionality utilizes on-device processing to analyze incoming SMS, MMS, and RCS messages for patterns commonly associated with scams. When a suspicious message is identified, the system alerts the user with a warning, allowing them to block or report the sender.
