Losing something doesn’t feel good; it never has. However, realizing you lost it three hours and two train stops later feels even worse, in my opinion. That is exactly what Google’s latest addition to the Find Hub addresses.
Google’s Find Hub for Android, the app that helps locate compatible devices, now has a “Notify when left behind” feature. It pings your phone when you walk away from a tracker (or the item it’s attached to), and helps you avoid losing stuff (via 9To5Google).
How do the alerts work, and which trackers get them?
Open the Find Hub app, select a tag or a device that supports the feature, and tap the settings button. There you’ll see the new “Notify when left behind” toggle; enable it. That’s it. It’s a per-tracker toggle, which lets you guard your wallet tag without being nagged about the spare keys.
Once it’s on, your phone pings you when you start wandering off without the tracker, unless that tracker is sitting in a saved or familiar location. That spares you a false alarm every time a tag stays on the hook.
If you don’t see the option yet, check for a Find Hub update. For now, the feature is available in version 3.1.787-06. The best part, in my view, is that it isn’t limited to Google’s own trackers.
For now, the feature is live in the US and certain parts of Europe. It also showed up on Moto Tag and Chipolo trackers linked to Android phones.
Why did this take so long, and should you turn it on?
I’d say that the cross-brand support matters more than the feature itself. Android trackers come from so many makers, and it’s hard to make the feature work with all of them.
For context, Apple has offered tracker separation alerts for years via Find My. Meanwhile, Samsung added the feature to SmartThings a few years ago. Google is quite late to the party. Late beats never, though.
My advice: turn it on only for what you can’t afford to lose, like your wallet, keys, and bag, so the alerts stay meaningful instead of becoming something that annoys you or doesn’t grab your attention.