Find My Device's upcoming biometric logins could make the app much easier to use (APK teardown)

Android’s upgraded Find My Device network is here, and we’re on the verge of receiving Android trackers, too, that would compete against AirTags. You can manage all this through the updated Find My Device app on Android devices, marking it as an essential piece of the puzzle. However, the Find My Device app tends to slow down sign-ins with frequent account password requirements, which can quickly become annoying for many people. Google is exploring other ways of making the process easier, and biometric unlocks could be the key to the puzzle.

Currently, the Find My Device app needs your account password every time you open it. You can use the “Don’t ask again” option to avoid needing a password, but the consequence of this is that anyone with access to your unlocked phone will be able to access the Find My Device features of all your listed devices.

Android Authority contributor Assemble Debug managed to enable a biometric login option for the updated Find My Device app.

Biometric unlock is a great middle ground between security and convenience, as it adds a layer of authentication to the app that isn’t too cumbersome. So even if someone gets access to your unlocked phone, they will not be able to mess around with the rest of your Android devices and trackers without making it difficult for you to do so, either. This will become even more important once the upgraded Find My Device network rolls out completely worldwide and Android trackers become commonplace.

Android Authority contributor Assemble Debug also managed to enable the remote lock functionality within the latest Google Play Services. Find My Device allowed you to lock and erase your phone for years now, but the new Remote Lock functionality lets you lock your device with just your phone number and a quick security challenge using any device. The feature we activated doesn’t really work, as the rollout is slated for some time further in the future, but you can see the screen in action.

The new Remote Lock feature should reduce people’s stress when they lose their device and realize that they do not immediately remember their account details. Remote Lock will be available to Android 10 and above devices through a Google Play Services update later in the year.

Both of these new features are not currently live within the app. Google is currently testing them within the app, so they may roll out sometime soon.