Let’s face it, devices get lost or stolen. This is especially true if one is constantly on the go. When you’re scrambling to make it to that career-changing meeting, or you’re running late for your plane, things happen.
When it does, what do you do? Do you toss your hands up in the air, like you literally don’t care? Or do you take action to either attempt to find the phone, or worst case scenario, wipe your device so no one can gain access to your data? Thankfully, Google has made it simple to take care of the latter option. But the thing is, you have actually enable it on your device, otherwise you cannot make use of the features found at google.com/android/find.
SEE: Android Pie is here, coming to Google Pixel phones first (CNET)
To enable the feature, open up the Settings window, scroll down and tap the Google entry. In the resulting window, scroll down, and tap Security. Tap Find My Device, and then tap the slider until it is in the On position.
That’s all there is to it. Once enabled, you can then go to google.com/android/find and locate your phone, play a sound, lock, or wipe your device. I suggest you take care of this as soon as you get a new Android phone or tablet. If Find My Device isn’t enabled, and your Android phone is stolen or lost, you can’t use the feature. That, my friends, would be a shame. Use it, or lose it.
