Google’s Find My Device network found to be more private, but less effective for tracking lost items than Apple Find My
Google’s Find My Device network offers a bit more privacy than Apple’s Find My network, but it’s less effective and tracking lost items.
That sounds odd given Apple’s penchant for privacy, but Google actually built its network with tighter location privacy rules than Apple’s Find My.
As noted by The Verge, Google designed its network to avoid precise real-time tracking for privacy reasons. As a result, the publication found Android’s Find My Device service and network less effective at tracking lost items than Apple’s.
Google’s Find My Device network is more private, but less effective at tracking lost items than Apple Find My
Dominic Preston at The Verge tested the latest item trackers from Apple, Pebblebee, Chipolo, Motorola and Tile with Apple Find My and Google Find My Devices.
Even after 12 months of work, it’s pretty inarguable that Google’s Find My Device network still isn’t as good as Apple’s Find My at actually finding stuff. The difference now is that the disparity is philosophical, not technological: Google doesn’t seem to want to offer precise real-time tracking, and so it’s built its network to be more private, but less effective.
Keep in mind that Google’s network is twelve months old, while Apple launched Find My network launched five years ago, in 2019. “For those who want to actually track their lost tech, that’s a big potential downside—Apple’s AirTag will often do a better job, and even Tile’s network is occasionally more accurate,” reads the piece.
How Google’s lack of precise location tracking affects its Find My Device network.
Google’s big bet is that “good enough” will be good enough, that finding lost belongings most of the time, pretty accurately, and fairly fast is all people really need, and that they’re willing to give up on those edge cases in return for a network that’s safer and more private than the competition.
I honestly didn’t know that Google’s Find My Device thing is actually more private than the Find My network on my iPhone, iPad and Mac. It’s a bit of a surprise—rarely does Google trade functionality for privacy; it’s usually the other way round.
Cross-platform tracking alerts
Apple, Google and other technology companies have vowed to make their respective software platforms and personal item trackers interoperable, so that you get unauthorized tracking alerts on your iPhone and Android handset.
Of course, most new personal item trackers made in 2025 should be compatible with iOS and Android, but check with the manufacturer. Also, some unsupported item trackers may let you upgrade their firmware with support for cross-platform tracking alerts on iOS and Android, but check with the manufacturer because not all vendors will choose to add this functionality to their existing devices in the wild. Also, some item trackers don’t have an upgradable firmware in the first place.
Source link: https://www.idownloadblog.com/2025/04/28/google-find-my-device-network-apple-find-my-privacy/
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