Statement on impacts of FindMyDevice SOC on Pixel 9 and newer?

missing-root

Pixels 9 and newer have a separate chip that is always on, even when the phone is off, that is used for find-my-device.

This is very different from the baseband which is kinda controlled by the application processor running GrapheneOS.

Why is this nowhere to be found with a warning? What are the privacy impacts of that chip when using GrapheneOS, with or without a Google account?

Murcielago

missing-root
Are you referring to this feature?

This seems to bea available on Google Pixel 8 or newer and is not supported by GrapheneOS:

It won't be supported by GrapheneOS. We'd have to go out of our way to add support for it.

source: https://discuss.grapheneos.org/d/11520-android-find-my-device-when-powered-off/2

If it's a newer feature in Google Pixel 9 and above as you said, could you please provide a link to check out the feature?

missing-root

Murcielago

https://www.androidauthority.com/pixel-9-find-my-switched-off-3473133/

https://www.androidauthority.com/finding-shut-down-pixel-phone-test-3549507/

Murcielago

missing-root

Thanks for providing the links. If I'm reading it correctly, it's not a new feature but the one I mentioned, so my quote above should also should apply to the Pixel 9:

TL;DR
Like the Pixel 8 series, Google has equipped the Pixel 9 series with specialized hardware that lets Android's Find My Device network locate the devices even if they're powered off.

source: https://www.androidauthority.com/pixel-9-find-my-switched-off-3473133/

and

See, with Android 15, Google rolled out a new option for Pixel 8 and 9 phones to help you locate them even when powered off (other phones joined in later, like the OnePlus 13 and Xiaomi 15). Thanks to this, you should be able to find your offline phone even if the battery runs out or a thief turns it off. All good on paper, but we had taken Google’s word for it instead of testing it. So I had to test it out.

source: https://www.androidauthority.com/finding-shut-down-pixel-phone-test-3549507/