Nestled within the Google Home app's "Home & Away" menu, a new Vacation Mode feature may be gearing up to randomly control your smart home devices while you're away. At least that's the case if it's anything like the away and vacation modes on other smart home platforms like SmartThings.
Android Authority has spotted the new "Vacation Mode" while tearing into the latest Google Home app. Aside from adding one of the best security cameras to your setup, this is one of the best ways to protect your home against criminals.
Google Home can sense your presence using your phone's location and a variety of sensors built into many of its best smart home devices. This automatically kicks off routines and a specified set of tasks, like lowering the thermostat or turning off lights while you're away. But on an extended stay, this leaves your home powered down.
In version 3.23.1.3 of the app, a new Vacation feature denoted by a calendar icon has appeared in the Home and Away menu. You can likely click this to set the dates for your trip and have your Google Home randomly trigger devices throughout the day. That may look like opening (or closing) smart blinds, playing music through smart speakers, or adjusting your smart lights.
Google's Vacation Routine isn’t fully baked and delivers an error when a user attempts to tap on its calendar icon in the current release. There’s also no trace of a Vacation option in the Household Routines section of the Automation tab at the moment. Still, this highly requested feature could give the Google Home platform a much-needed boost.
