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Google Home's killer feature reminds you where you left your keys

Keep losing or misplacing important documents and items? Just tell Google Home to remember where you put them.

Taylor Martin CNET Contributor
Taylor Martin has covered technology online for over six years. He has reviewed smartphones for Pocketnow and Android Authority and loves building stuff on his YouTube channel, MOD. He has a dangerous obsession with coffee and is afraid of free time.
Taylor Martin
3 min read
Watch this: Google Home's best feature? Remembering where your stuff is

Naturally, you only ever misplace the most important things in your life -- and usually when you need them the most.

If you're prone to losing important items or documents, worry no more. Google Home can remember where you stored your passport or where you put your spare keys. All you have to do is ask.

Here's how it works.

OK Google, remember everything

Google Home's "remember" feature works best for remembering something about specific items, like where you put it or what it is. The more simple you make it, the easier it will be to recall later. Just say something like:

  • "OK Google, remember that I put my passport in the bottom drawer of my filing cabinet."
  • "OK Google, remember that my spare key to the truck is hidden outside."
  • "OK Google, remember that Alex has my wallet."
  • "OK Google, remember that my password is money."

Google Home will confirm that it will remember what you told it by speaking it back to you.

Sadly, this feature is specific to Google Home and won't work with Google Assistant in other places, like Allo or on Pixel phones.

Recalling remembered items

When you want to recall where you last put something, just ask Google where that item is or what you said about it. For instance, say something like:

  • "OK Google, where is my passport?"
  • "OK Google, what did I tell you about my wallet?"
  • "OK Google, what is my password?"

The remember feature of Google Home works best for items. However, if you get creative, you can use it to remember other things, such as when you last did something. For example:

  • "OK Google, remember that I watered the hermit crabs this morning."
  • "OK Google, remember that I called mom today."

Recalling these remembered items is the tricky part. You have to pay special attention to how you phrase your command. To recall when I called my mom last, I had to say, "OK Google, what did I tell you about 'called mom'?" It's very unnatural to say and, grammatically, it makes no sense. But it works.

For the hermit crabs, it's much more natural. Just say, "OK Google, what did I tell you about the hermit crabs?"

Recalling the items you've told Google Home to remember can be finicky at times, especially if you can't remember how you originally phrased the commands. To recall everything you've told Google Home to remember, say "OK Google, what did I tell you to remember?"

Forgetting remembered items

Security is pretty low on a device like Google Home, so if you've told Google to remember something sensitive, you may also want it to forget that information at some point.

Unfortunately, managing everything you've told Google Home to remember is clunky at best. The only way to find out everything you've had Google remember is to ask. There's no way to manage it in the Google Home app.

You also have to delete the reminders for each remembered item individually, so it may take some time. Say, "OK Google, forget what I told you about my password." Google will stop storing anything you've told it to remember about that item.