Google quietly made Find Hub an Android app I can't live without

As someone who is perpetually losing track of things like my car keys and wallet, AirTags and similar trackers have made my life much easier. But there’s a whole category of things that I want to keep track of, but can’t stick a tracker to.

So, when Google recently updated the Find Hub app to track anything I wanted, trust me, I was incredibly excited. Recently, Google added a new Remembered tab to Find Hub, which uses Gemini to help you keep track of things you can’t attach a tracker to. It’s as simple as that.

I’ve been using it for the past few weeks, and while I always knew I needed a feature like this, I didn’t realize how much I’d end up using it.

Bluetooth trackers can’t track everything

As I mentioned earlier, I’m a big fan of physical trackers. I have them attached to my keys, in my wallet and in my bags. They’re great for tracking things I carry around regularly. But there’s a whole category of stuff that doesn’t make sense to track with a Bluetooth tag.

Take my passport, for example. I don’t need it most of the year. It just doesn’t make sense to stick a dedicated Bluetooth tracker to it. I usually put it somewhere safe, so I don’t lose it. But the problem is that a few months later, I have absolutely no idea where that safe place was.

I’ve spent far too much time searching drawers and cupboards before a trip, trying to remember where I put my passport months ago. That’s where Google’s new feature comes in. Find Hub now lets you tag any item, leave a note and a picture, and remember where you put it down.

A spot to keep track of all your physical items

Instead of attaching a tracker to something, you simply tell Gemini where you put it. For example, you can hold the power button to bring up Gemini and say, “I put my passport in the top drawer of my dresser.”

Gemini saves that information, and you can come back to it later through Find Hub. The whole process takes a couple of seconds at most. There’s no typing, no tagging, and no need to set up another app. Just tell your phone where you’ve put something and move on.

Of course, you don’t have to talk to Gemini to use the feature. The Remembered tab in the Find Hub also lets you add an item manually. You can type its name, add where you stored it, and include additional notes.

Depending on how you use the feature, you might find manual entry quicker when organizing a larger number of items. I know, I did. Moreover, the feature’s simplicity makes it particularly accessible on the fly.

That said, you’ve got options if you want to get granular. If you need a bit more information attached to things that you’ve stored, Google also lets you add a photo when saving a memory. This is particularly useful for things stored in places where a description might not be enough. You can take a quick picture of the drawer, cupboard or storage box and attach it to the entry.

That sounds like a small addition, but it’s surprisingly useful if you keep shuffling things around. In my case, the organization layout of my study evolves every few weeks as new things come in and go, and having a photo of the storage box I’ve used attached to the note helps me keep track of things. It’s a visual reference, and in my opinion, that’s always a better approach than putting words down.

The Remembered section also lives inside Find Hub alongside standard Bluetooth trackers so you don’t have to install another app or remember where you’ve saved this information. It’s all integrated at a single spot.

I tested it with things I always end up losing

When the feature showed up on my phone, I wasn’t convinced I’d actually use it. So I decided to put it to the test in my real-world workflow. I saved a couple of things I struggle to find every day: the key to my second car, an adaptor for my camera, a pair of sunglasses, and my daily notebook.

Adding them was almost ridiculously easy. I stood in front of the drawer or cupboard where each item was stored, told Gemini where I’d put it, and took a photo through the Find Hub where it made sense. Adding things took barely a couple of seconds every single time.

And when it was time to locate those items again, I just asked Gemini where I’d put it. It immediately told me which desk drawer it was in and showed me the photo I’d taken when I saved the item. It’s that lack of friction that makes the feature stick and genuinely usable on the daily.

There is, of course, one big catch. The entire process is understandably manual, and Remembered in the Find Hub is only as useful as the information you give it. If I put my passport in a different drawer and don’t tell Gemini, Find Hub will still send me to the old location.

That’s obvious, but it’s also worth keeping in mind. This isn’t a replacement for a physical tracker. It’s just an additional perk for things that you can’t attach a physical tracker to.

I finally have a reason to open the Find Hub more regularly

I’ve tried plenty of AI features that sound impressive but don’t really change how I use my phone. Remembered is different. For one, the AI interaction isn’t particularly deep, but it suffices for the app’s purposes. All it does is speed up the process of adding something to be tracked.

More than that, though, the app is incredibly simple, while solving a problem I’ve had for years. I don’t need another subscription, another gadget, or another app to track all the little tchotchkes around my home. I just need my phone to remember something that I know I’ll forget. Specifically, something that’s better than a note in Google Keep.

While Remembered won’t replace a physical tracker for easily misplaced items like car keys or your wallet, it’s a great addition for things that don’t move around much. More than that, though, it has made the Find Hub a much more widely used utility for me, since I’m no longer using it only when I’ve lost things but also to keep track of them.