Google is reportedly working on a new device-locator feature that will make it possible for people to find their phones and accessories even when they are powered off.

The feature, which is said to be called Find My Device, will reportedly be similar to Apple's Find My which also lets people locate iPhones, iPads, and other devices. Find My also uses the huge number of iPhones in circulation as the backbone of the network and it's thought that's what Google intends to do with all of the Android phones out there.

Lost and found, even if powered off

A 91mobiles report cites leaker Kuba Wojciechowski as the source of the information that suggests Find My Device will also be used to locate item trackers similar to the AirTag. Those trackers will use ultra wideband (UWB) technology for more precision when displaying where items are and making them easier to find in the process.

Being able to locate phones even when they aren't powered on is a key feature that would make Find My Device so helpful. "The feature will be called Pixel Power-off Finder, at least on Google phones," the report claims. 91mobiles goes on, saying that Google "is tipped to be working on building a huge network of all Android devices, including optional support or UWB, locator tags like Apple AirTags and these include Google’s own tag codename 'grogu' and more"

At this point, it isn't clear if Google already has all of the required technology built into the Pixel 7 and Pixel 7 Pro, but we can bet that it'll be there when the Pixel 8 series is ready to go later this year.

It also isn't clear whether this would be limited to Google's devices or if it would allow OEMs to take advantage of it as well.

This latest news comes a day after Google was rumoured to be ready to announce its AirTag-like tracker during the Google I/O 2023 event in May.