New York: Google has updated its “My Account” service in order to make it easier for Android users to find their lost or stolen phones.
Google has announced an update to its “My Account” service launched last year which will now include a feature that helps users find their lost or stolen phone. You’ll soon be able to find this new option just by googling “I lost my phone,” the company says. While Google already offered tools for Android users with missing devices, this expands Google’s phone-finding help to iOS devices.
The search giant says that all users will need to do to find this option is Google “I lost my phone,” and they can then make the phone ring at maximum volume, lock it, locate it, call it, secure their account and leave a callback number on the screen.
The new feature is the latest tool to debut for the purpose of helping Android users find lost devices, such as the Android Device Manager app, which lets users locate, ring or remote wipe their device from the web.
But in testing, it’s clear that Google can’t actually take control of iOS users’ devices. Instead, it directs users to Apple’s iCloud to find and lock their phone. Plus it offers a tool for calling the phone, and lets you sign out of Google services remotely, which is helpful for protecting your account from hacks. It also includes suggestions on how to reach out to your carrier or a local lost and found on Google Maps.
Google is also making it easier to reach the feature, as well as the My Account site in general. In the latter case, the company says that, in the near future, you’ll be able to find the site just by searching Google for your own name.
You’ll be able to launch the site from the Google app, too, by saying “OK Google, show me my Google account.” This works today in English, and support for other languages is coming soon.
The My Account site, for those unfamiliar, launched almost exactly one year ago to offer Google users centralized access to privacy and security settings across the company’s services. Today, that includes things like Ads Settings, plus Privacy and Security checkups. The idea is to make it easier to manage and protect your data and privacy as related to Google’s many services in one destination, instead of having to visit each property individually.
To date, over a billion people have used My Account, Google says.
The new “Find your phone” feature is available now, with Google search integration arriving shortly.