AssembleDebug / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google appears to be working on a home screen shortcut for users who are sharing their location with you in Find Hub.
- Right now, Google Maps already offers similar functionality.
- Bringing the option to the Find Hub reflects Google’s consolidation of tracking tools.
Once again, we’re putting Google’s latest version 3.1.399-3 release of the Find Hub under the microscope. We just looked at how the app was working to make it easier to make sure your friends are sharing their locations back with you, but even once they do, you’d still have to keep pulling the app to check on where they’re at.
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Right now, when you look at the options available to you for someone who’s sharing their live location, you can refresh that data, hide them from your map, or block them altogether.
While it’s not yet visible in the app, the Find Hub now appears to be working on an additional option for creating a convenient home screen shortcut. Once you set that up, you’ll be able to easily jump right in to the Find Hub and pull up your friend or family member’s location quicker than ever.
We can’t imagine most users will clog up their home screens with too many of these widget shortcuts, but the idea feels like a perfect fit for a few that matter most to you: your BFF, partner, or child.
Admittedly, Google Maps already supports pretty much exactly this same shortcut for users who have shared their location with you, but seeing the Find Hub also picking up that functionality makes all the sense in the world to us — this is a hub, after all, and we’d love to be able to have everything under the “finding” banner all in one place.
⚠️ An APK teardown helps predict features that may arrive on a service in the future based on work-in-progress code. However, it is possible that such predicted features may not make it to a public release.
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