- Android 15 is expected to introduce a Powered Off Finder API.
- This API will enable compatible devices to be tracked even when switched off.
- The feature is expected to be available on the Google Pixel 9 series, and the Pixel 8 series.
On one hand, this is great for lost or stolen phones. On the other hand (and rest of the body), this is horrible for privacy.
The Dangerous Criminal (Poor) has always been used to justify asking people to give up their freedoms, in exchange for “safety”.
And most of the time, the danger is close to made up. “Reality inspired”, if we were to be poetic about it. (Can’t say about this case, maybe your city is full of pickpockets unlike mine. But this API sure seems neither opt-in, nor like it’s going to be “limited to a select few models” going forward, to me…)
I live in London. This feature is a must. The amount of theft in recent years is just bonkers.
Does it need to be non-disableable even with the passcode to remain useful?
People really need to learn to think of the details and not the general idea.
In my opinion, anti-theft features should be always active and your phone should be permanently bound to your account. There should be no way to unlink your phone from within the phone itself. If you want to sell it, you can unlink it from your PC, but there should be no tools for thieves to unblock and unlink the phone.
Man. I really need Pine, Ubuntu Touch, or one of the other alt systems to accelerate and release a phone that’s usable as a daily driver. The dystopia is getting increasingly difficult to avoid.
On one hand: It’d be nice to be able to locate my phone if I lose it and it shuts off.
On the other hand: I only want me to be able to track it; not Google or any of their associates.
At least they’re finally acknowledging that the base band never really shuts down.
This is probably going to be similar to Apple’s find system, which is a low powered Bluetooth based system. Apple Airtags and powered-off phones just broadcast a “I am here” signal once in a while that other devices can receive and report back to Apple.
