Google has begun rolling out a Find Hub feature that warns Android users when they walk away from a location tracker or the item it is attached to.
The option, labeled Notify when left behind, closes a gap with rivals. Apple has offered separation alerts for Find My-enabled trackers for years, and Samsung brought them to SmartThings for products such as Galaxy SmartTags and Buds a few years ago.
The point is to catch a lost item early. A prompt alert can give someone a better shot at recovering a dropped or forgotten belonging before getting too far away or boarding a plane.
The setting works one device at a time. Users open the Find Hub app, pick a tag from their device list and tap the settings gear, then switch the alert on in a new section of that tracker's page.
Once it is enabled, the Find Hub network sends a warning when the phone moves far enough from the tracker. Leaving the item at the home address saved in Google Maps will not set it off.
For now, availability appears limited to the United States and portions of Europe. The alerts also seem to work beyond Google's own ecosystem, functioning with Moto and Chipolo trackers paired to an Android phone.
