Google Rolls Out Find My Device ‘People’ Update 

Following the announcement at the start of this month, Google today has more widely rolled out the big Find My Device update that adds location sharing with “People.”

This update starts in the “Devices” tab with the fullscreen list replaced by a split-screen view. A map appears at the top, while phones, tablets, smartwatches, headphones, and trackers appear below. The icon for each item is smaller than before, while you’ll see other filter chips if you have Family devices. 

Find My Device makes use of an interesting ‘pull tab’ in the top-right corner for the profile menu where you can: Switch accounts, Sign in as guest, see Blocked users, and access Location Sharing settings. 

Overall, this design is a throwback to previous, years-old design, with functionality winning out over something simpler.

Old vs. new

Then there’s the Find My Device’s new “People” tab, which is currently in “Beta,” to share your location and see where family and friends are. The same sheet layout is leveraged here with the ability to filter by “Sharing with you” and “You’re sharing with.” 

People appear below with an address and proximity noted. A FAB (floating action button) in the bottom-right corner of the map lets you start sharing. There’s a card-based preview of what you’ll be sending, as well as the duration picker: For 1 hour, Today only, Until you turn this off, and Custom duration. You’ll get a carousel of people or can “Share link” in the sheet below.

You have to “Grant app location permissions to display a blue dot on your map and calculate friends’ distance from you.” 

Version 3.1.277-4 of Find My Device is widely rolling out via Google Play today. 

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