Google Play gets tough on battery drain, plus a big update for Find Hub’s device tracking

Google is implementing new regulations to prevent apps from surreptitiously depleting your phone’s battery. This is all because of a new measurement tool that was developed with Samsung’s assistance and aims to identify apps that keep your device running for extended periods of time.

In essence, certain apps use a feature known as a “wake lock” to keep your phone running in the background. This enables them to complete their work even if your screen is off. Although this is occasionally required, it becomes an issue when applications maintain this “awake” state for extended periods of time. Google will flag an app under the new guidelines if it keeps your phone running a little bit longer than two hours in a day.

An app will be punished if, over the course of a month, 5% of its users experience this issue. The app will then be hidden from the Play Store’s primary recommendation lists. More significantly, users will notice a red, unambiguous warning on the app’s page: “This app may use more battery than expected due to high background activity.” On March 1, 2026, the Google Play Store will undergo these significant changes.

For those who depend on their gadgets to keep track of their belongings, the company also had a different piece of news. An update (version 3.1.458) to the Android “Find Hub” app is being released, adding a minor but useful new feature. There is now a new “Distance units” option in the app’s Settings section that allows you to select between Default, Metric, US, or UK styles for measuring distances.

More significantly, Google has made significant improvements to the Find Hub website section. A large, thorough list of all the devices compatible with the service has been made public.

Today, this list features over a hundred products and accessories from over 60 different companies, including well-known brands like Motorola and Chipolo. Tracking tags, headphones and speakers, and products with tracking technology integrated into them are just a few of the categories into which the list is neatly divided.