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Google will likely introduce a new feature in Android called Nearby, which will allow new interactions between you and nearby people, places, and things.
Nearby will come with an upcoming Google Play Services update. While we still caution readers that anything related to a leak can change, we are not treating this as a rumor, as our information is reliable and complete enough to inspire full confidence that this functionality will be revealed soon.
What is Nearby?
Before we get started, here's the copy from the Nearby onboarding screen, which gives a nice overview of what we'll be discussing.
Nearby lets you connect, share, and do more with people, places, and things near you.
When Nearby is turned on for your account, Google can periodically turn on the mic, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and similar features on all your current and future devices. Google+ and other Google services need this access to help you connect, share, and more.
When you turn on Nearby, you're also turning on Location History for your account and Location Reporting for this device. Google needs these services to periodically store your location data for use by Nearby, other Google services, and more.
You'd be forgiven for not registering the full impact of Nearby from that snippet. The key takeaway from this is that Nearby will allow enabled devices, with extreme precision, to know when they are near each other, and interact according to the context.
Remember when Google bought Bump? The service used the bumping motion as well as location data to know when two devices wanted to interact. Google also acquired SlickLogin in February, which can use audio, Bluetooth, and WiFi to authenticate. Nearby would wrap up all these techniques without you even touching your device. To protect privacy, the information gathered from these various sources on your device would likely travel to Google, and be matched with others' information there, with only the acknowledgement of proximity being revealed to other devices.
Users, according to our information, will also be able to choose who (and presumably what) they are visible to. This will limit the ways that Nearby can automatically interact on a user's behalf.
What Does it Look Like?
The shots below are actual screenshots, not our mockups. The first set of shots shows entry to Nearby settings from Google Settings. Nearby is under the "Location" item that already exists in Google Settings. The initial screen will give the user some introduction to what Nearby is and does, and the option to turn it on, though for obvious reasons, a data connection is required to switch it on.
Once the user does flip the switch, there's not a whole lot to see. According to our information, the settings here will include items like "visibility," wherein a user can monitor and adjust the list of other people they are visible to. Individual settings for other services using Nearby would likely also populate this list, once everything is hooked up. It isn't surprising to see an empty tray here, since apps besides Play Services would need to be updated to actually hook into this functionality and it doesn't appear any apps have this capability yet.
Final Thoughts
It's early, but Nearby is definitely a functionality to keep an eye out for. Besides the obvious applications like the previously rumored contact-based reminders, the feature could have huge potential for other areas. We can't be certain whether this will be an I/O unveiling, but here's hoping we hear something official soon.
Exclusive: Google Will Soon Introduce 'Nearby' To Let Other 'People, Places, And Things' Know When You're Around
Nearby will come with an upcoming Google Play Services update. While we still caution readers that anything related to a leak can change, we are not treating this as a rumor, as our information is reliable and complete enough to inspire full confidence that this functionality will be revealed soon.
What is Nearby?
Before we get started, here's the copy from the Nearby onboarding screen, which gives a nice overview of what we'll be discussing.
Nearby lets you connect, share, and do more with people, places, and things near you.
When Nearby is turned on for your account, Google can periodically turn on the mic, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and similar features on all your current and future devices. Google+ and other Google services need this access to help you connect, share, and more.
When you turn on Nearby, you're also turning on Location History for your account and Location Reporting for this device. Google needs these services to periodically store your location data for use by Nearby, other Google services, and more.
You'd be forgiven for not registering the full impact of Nearby from that snippet. The key takeaway from this is that Nearby will allow enabled devices, with extreme precision, to know when they are near each other, and interact according to the context.
Remember when Google bought Bump? The service used the bumping motion as well as location data to know when two devices wanted to interact. Google also acquired SlickLogin in February, which can use audio, Bluetooth, and WiFi to authenticate. Nearby would wrap up all these techniques without you even touching your device. To protect privacy, the information gathered from these various sources on your device would likely travel to Google, and be matched with others' information there, with only the acknowledgement of proximity being revealed to other devices.
Users, according to our information, will also be able to choose who (and presumably what) they are visible to. This will limit the ways that Nearby can automatically interact on a user's behalf.
What Does it Look Like?
The shots below are actual screenshots, not our mockups. The first set of shots shows entry to Nearby settings from Google Settings. Nearby is under the "Location" item that already exists in Google Settings. The initial screen will give the user some introduction to what Nearby is and does, and the option to turn it on, though for obvious reasons, a data connection is required to switch it on.
Once the user does flip the switch, there's not a whole lot to see. According to our information, the settings here will include items like "visibility," wherein a user can monitor and adjust the list of other people they are visible to. Individual settings for other services using Nearby would likely also populate this list, once everything is hooked up. It isn't surprising to see an empty tray here, since apps besides Play Services would need to be updated to actually hook into this functionality and it doesn't appear any apps have this capability yet.
Final Thoughts
It's early, but Nearby is definitely a functionality to keep an eye out for. Besides the obvious applications like the previously rumored contact-based reminders, the feature could have huge potential for other areas. We can't be certain whether this will be an I/O unveiling, but here's hoping we hear something official soon.
Exclusive: Google Will Soon Introduce 'Nearby' To Let Other 'People, Places, And Things' Know When You're Around
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