Google may be creating its own version of Apple’s Find My network, called Spot, that would let you track devices even when they’re not connected to the internet. What could possibly go wrong?
Google has created a new device tracking network
Google is playing catch-up. Apple has deployed its formidable Find My network, and Amazon has acquired Tile, the other major player in passive tracking technology. Apple rumor mill 9to5Mac spotted the new Spot feature in a beta version of Google’s Play Services, and it appears the company plans to sneak it into many existing Android phones. But will users trust Google not to use it to track them?
"Google will be able to easily track and monitor all nearby Google devices and profile users more accurately," Mykola Srebniuk, chief information security officer at MacPaw, told Lifewire in an email. "This is all about the advertising business. Therefore, privacy will be replaced by confidentiality, so Google will know everything again."
Apple’s Find My network has a huge advantage over other tracking technologies. Instead of requiring a lost device to connect to the internet to transmit its position, Find My uses one of the more than one billion iOS devices to perform the detection.
