Google's Latest Update Lets You Track People

Google just rolled out a major update to its Find My Device app, and it’s not just about recovering lost phones anymore. The new “People” tab allows users to share and track real-time locations of others, with consent—on paper, anyway.

Framed as a way to simplify coordination and keep loved ones safe, the update buries a much more serious shift: Google is rebranding human location tracking as a core utility, alongside lost phones and Bluetooth trackers. That’s not convenience. That’s normalization.

To be clear, Google Maps has offered location sharing for years. The technology isn’t new. But baking it into a separate app that was historically used only to track devices introduces a fundamental reframing: people are now just another asset to be located.

The interface is polished. The controls sound reassuring. You can choose how long to share your location—for an hour, a day, or until you turn it off. You can stop sharing anytime. But here’s the real issue: just because the feature is “consensual” doesn’t mean it can’t be abused. And in many cases, it already is.

Reports of tech-enabled domestic abuse have risen sharply over the last five years. Abusers routinely use location-sharing tools, spyware apps, and connected devices to monitor and control victims. In this context, what Google calls a helpful feature becomes a surveillance weapon in the wrong hands.

And it’s not just abusive relationships. Employers pressuring staff to share locations, parents over-monitoring teens, or even friends who use location as a form of social control—these are all real-world dynamics that companies like Google conveniently ignore.

The fact that this update still relies on Google Maps infrastructure doesn’t make it safer—it just means your location is part of an even larger data ecosystem. One that already collects, stores, and analyzes your movements at scale. Google claims this data is encrypted and private, but even anonymized location data has been proven easy to de-anonymize, especially when shared across platforms.

And yes, the new system is cross-platform: iPhone users can be tracked too, as long as they have Google Maps installed. It’s not just Android-specific anymore. That means even opting out of Android’s ecosystem isn’t a firewall—you’re still traceable if you use any of Google’s apps.

All of this is framed by Google as optional, helpful, and secure. But remember: so was location tracking in Facebook Messenger. So was Apple’s AirTag, which quickly became a stalking tool. The problem isn’t just the tech—it’s the context, the consequences, and the blind optimism that tech companies hide behind.

If you want to share your location with a trusted friend, you can already do that—WhatsApp, Signal, and others have had this covered for years, often with better end-to-end encryption. This update isn't about offering something new. It’s about consolidation. Making sure Google is the first and last layer of every interaction.

Most people won’t even notice what’s changed. The new People tab in Find My Device is labeled “Beta,” and it looks harmless enough. But this is how surveillance culture takes root: by being easy, by being useful, by pretending it’s no big deal.

The problem isn’t that this feature exists. The problem is that it’s being normalized through a platform that has nothing to do with human relationships and everything to do with property. Devices and people—now located on the same map, with the same tools, for the same reasons. That’s the shift. That’s the red flag.

And it’s happening quietly.

Don’t confuse control with safety. Don’t confuse consent with freedom. And don’t assume that because a tech company offers toggles and timers, your privacy is protected.