Learn how Google Play services can interact with your nearby devices

Google Play services enables important features of your device and helps make your device more secure and reliable. Google Play services is different from the Google Play Store. Learn more about Google Play services.

In order to interact with nearby devices, Google Play services may use Bluetooth. If you're on a device with Android 11 or earlier, some of the services that use Bluetooth may instead require the Location permission.

How Google Play services can interact with your Nearby Devices

Google Play services may periodically use the Nearby Devices permission to perform core services on your device. Some examples are:

To improve security

Google Play services may periodically interact with nearby devices, sometimes in the background, to help you with security features such as the examples described below:

Use your phone as a security key when you sign in to another nearby device.
Unpair Bluetooth devices from your lost phone with Find My Device.
- To manage your Find My Device settings:
  1. Open your device’s Settings app.
  2. Tap Google All services.
  3. Under "Personal & device safety," tap Find My Device.
Add a trusted Bluetooth device with Smart Lock to keep your phone unlocked when connected.
- Tip: To turn on Smart Lock, on your Android device, open Settings Security Smart Lock Trusted devices.

To sign in to your Google Account across devices

You can use your phone to sign in to your Google Account on other devices, like your Android TV or your car with Google apps and services built in.

To find & connect to nearby devices

Google Play services may periodically scan for nearby devices, in the background, to help you discover and connect to nearby devices. For example, you can:

Pair your device with Bluetooth accessories through Fast Pair

To change settings for Fast Pair:

Open your device’s Settings app.
Tap Google All services.
Under "Connected devices & sharing," tap Devices.

Tip: Learn how to use Fast Pair to connect your Android device.

Use Quick Share to securely share & receive files

You can use Quick Share to securely share and receive files from a single user or device, or multiple users or devices at a time. Learn how to use Quick Share on your Android device.

To change settings for Quick Share:

Open your device’s Settings app.
Tap Google All services.
Under "Connected devices & sharing," tap Quick Share.

Find, pair & stay connected with nearby Wear OS devices

To manage Wear OS device settings, use the Wear OS companion app.

Get & record fitness data

You can get and record fitness data like heart rate and running speed, through Google Fit or connected apps from Bluetooth devices.

To manage Google Fit settings:

Open your device’s Settings app.
Tap Google All services.
Under “Settings for Google apps,” tap Google Fit Connected apps and devices.

To improve your Chromebook experience

Google Play services may periodically interact with nearby devices, in the background, to help improve your Chromebook experience. For example, you can:

Unlock your Chromebook from your phone. Learn how.
Connect your phone to your Chromebook with Phone Hub and sync features of your mobile device, like notifications, on your Chromebook.
Create a hotspot from your Chromebook.

To connect devices without an internet connection

If you’re a developer, you can discover, connect, and exchange data directly with other devices, even without an internet connection. Learn more about Nearby Connections.

How Google handles your information

In order to enable some features, Google Play Services may collect and send some information to Google which may include crash logs and diagnostics information for analytics purposes. Any information that Google collects is handled in accordance with Google's Privacy Policy.