Have you lost your phone? Is it stolen? Maybe you just can't remember where you left it. Is it under the bed, behind the sofa, in your car? Find mislaid or stolen phones, ring or erase them.

Android phones use many Google services and one of the features is device tracking. As you move around and use your phone, especially with Google services, its location is stored in your Google account online. In your account is a list of all the places your phone has been seen. Some see privacy issues in this, but it is also useful when you need to locate a mislaid phone or to lock it and erase it if it has been stolen.

To enable or disable location tracking for devices that use Android apps, go to myactivity.google.com

Let's assume you want to track your phone location so you can find it, ring it or locate it.

1 View your account

Open a web browser on your computer and go to myaccount.google.com - you might need to log in or confirm your identity. Click Security in the sidebar on the left.

2 View your devices

You may be surprised to see non-Android devices like Windows computers, iPads and other devices listed. It doesn't matter what the device is, if it is used to access Google services, they are listed here. Although there is a Find a lost device link, click Manage devices below - there is more than one way to do things.

3 View signed-in devices

The devices that are signed into your Google account through an app of some sort, like Maps, Chrome, Gmail and so on, are listed. A rough location is given but it is not very accurate and the Samsung phone above does not give much of a clue as to its location. Click the device you want to locate, such as a phone.

4 See recent device activity

You can see when the device was last seen by Google services, when it was first used and the location, which may or nay not be helpful. In this case, the location is too broad to be useful. Click Find device.

5 Lost device actions

Now a list of useful actions is displayed and you can lock your phone, call it, sign out and more. If you know your phone is somewhere in your home, but you just can't find it, click the Ring icon to call it. Providing the phone is not turned off, you may be able to hear it.

If the phone is lost and could possibly be lost outside of the home, perhaps some place you visited or worked, click the Locate button.

6 See your phone on a map

The phone's location is displayed on a map. Zoom into it to see a more precise view of the location. You should be able to track it down to quite a small area. You cannot tell which room in a building it is in, but you can see the building or where you dropped it or left it.

PLAY SOUND makes the phone rung for five minutes, even if it is set to silent. That can help you locate a mislaid device around the home.

SECURE DEVICE is useful if you think you left the phone somewhere like a cafe, a hotel, work and so on. Use it to lock the device and sign out of Google for security. A useful option with this feature is the ability to display a message on the phone's screen, telling someone that finds it to call you or a friend on another phone or land line.

ERASE DEVICE should be used as a last resort to protect the phone, its contents and online accounts. It prevents anyone from accessing your personal and private information.