Google working on a new feature called Nearby, similar to Bump and Apple's iBeacon

Sunday, June 8, 2014

/ by Abhinaya
Google is alleged to be prepping a new feature dubbed Google Nearby for the Android based devices. According to Android Police, a next level contextual awareness suite will provide the Android devices a better understanding of where the users are and what they are doing without any interaction.

Google Nearby

The report claims that the feature will come as a part of the forthcoming Google Play Services update and those Android devices that have Nearby enabled with know the devices that are around them with superior precision. To know this, the user need not interact with the device expect for the first activation.

In simple words, Nearby is a combination of Bump, which Google acquired in September, that used bumping motion and location data to know when two devices want to interact and the service SlickLogin, which Google acquired in February, that used Bluetooth, WiFi and audio to authenticate the communication between two devices.

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In order to protect the privacy, the details gathered by multiple sources on the device will travel to Google, where they will be matched with details on the other device. After this, their proximity will be acknowledged and then they will communicate.

Users can control the individual settings, choosing to be visible or invisible to certain apps, programs and even other users. Though it appears to be a rumor, the report seems to be having a strong record in predicting the future Android features. Moreover, Android Police has also received the copy of Nearby on-boarding screen, which adds more credibility to the report.

Google I/O 2014 is happening on June 25th-26th, so expect to hear more about Google Nearby then.

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.
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edited with by Aman