Tracking accessories such as an AirTag are intended to help you find your personal belongings, but can also be misused to unintentionally track someone. Apple already had a solution for Find My accessories and, from iOS 17.5, also for tracking objects from other manufacturers.
Together with Google, Apple has developed a protocol that will be used by the industry to recognize tracking accessories and notify the user. This will make it more difficult for people to secretly follow someone.
Apple protects your privacy
Anyone with an iPhone or iPad with iOS or iPadOS 14.5 or newer can be warned if an AirTag is accidentally found among your belongings. This is necessary to guarantee privacy, because someone could have secretly hidden this AirTag.
This makes sense, because as soon as an AirTag, which is separate from the one who registered it, moves with you, the owner may be able to see the location of the AirTag. Thanks to the ‘Moves with you’ notification, you are warned so that you are not secretly followed. This is not only the case for an AirTag, but also for objects with support for the Find My network.
iOS 17.5 reports tracking accessories
Initially, the iPhone and iPad could only recognize objects using the Find My network and notify the user when a tracking accessory inadvertently follows you. From iOS 17.5 and iPadOS 17.5, objects that use other methods can also be recognized. This means that it becomes more difficult for users to secretly track someone with an Apple device.
Collaboration with Google
Apple announced one last year cooperation with Google, which must ensure that unwanted tracking of people is prevented. This is an industry specification that allows Bluetooth devices to detect unwanted tracking and then send notifications, on both iOS and Android platforms.
Over the past year, Google and Apple have been working on this protocol and it is being implemented from iOS 17.5 activated on iPhone and iPad, among others. Samsung, Chipolo, eufy Security and Pebblebee, among others, have indicated that they support this industry specification and will actively contribute to making their devices suitable.
‘The National Network to End Domestic Violence is calling for universal standards to protect people from the misuse of Bluetooth tracking devices. We see this collaboration, and the standards that result from it, as a major step forward. This progress is encouraging for the NNEDV,’ said Erica Olsen, Senior Director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence’s Safety Net Project. ‘The new standards mean that this technology is less abused and victims have less to worry about being tracked. We are very grateful for this and we would like to continue to contribute to solving this problem.’