- Evidence of satellite location-sharing in Find Hub is spotted
- Google had previously promised the feature was on the way
- It seems you’ll be able to share your location via pings every 15 minutes
Google’s Find Hub is the place to go to find out where your devices and your friends and family have got to, and there’s a big upgrade on the way in the form of location-sharing over satellite, for those times when you don’t have a Wi-Fi or cellular connection.
We already knew this feature was incoming, but the Android Authority team has now seen evidence of it in the latest version of the Find Hub app for Android. That suggests we’re about to see the functionality go live, though it isn’t yet.
Recently rebranded from Find My Device and then Find My, the Find Hub will now be even more useful: if you should be unfortunate enough to get into trouble a long way from public Wi-Fi and network coverage, other people will still be able to find you.
As always, you’ll have full control over who’s able to see your location from inside the app, so it’s only for those contacts you fully trust. You’re able to see who you’re sharing your location with and change those settings at any time, either through the Find Hub app or through Google Maps.
Location pings
Based on the hidden strings found in the Find Hub code, it looks as though satellite location-sharing won’t be continuous. Instead, you’ll be able to ping your contacts with a location every 15 minutes, up to a certain limit that isn’t yet clear – a bit like dropping a pin in an app like WhatsApp.
From the evidence here, it looks as though the sharing will be manual rather than continuous and in the background (as it usually is). You’ll be kept informed of how many location pings you have remaining over a certain period.
There’s still a lot we don’t know, such as which Android devices this is going to be compatible with, and whether or not using it will incur a charge, but it’s definitely another step in the right direction for staying safe while you’re out and about.
Note that this won’t be replacing the Emergency SOS feature already available on selected Android phones, which lets you get in touch with the emergency services via a satellite connection if you get into trouble, and which also includes a location-sharing element.