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Apple and Google release shared stalking protection for item trackers
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Apple and Google have finally settled on the industry standard for alerting iPhone and Android users when a Bluetooth tracker like anAirTagis moving with them.
The standard, which goes live todaywithin iOS 17.5will see users on both platforms get an “[Item] Found Moving With You” notification, regardless of whether that device has been paired with and Android or iPhone handset. It’s available on all phones running Android 6.0 and up from today too, Google says.
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That closes a major security loophole in the fight against these super-useful trackers being used for nefarious means – namely to stalk unsuspecting people, as has been documented.
“Apple and Google have worked together to create an industry specification — Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers — for Bluetooth tracking devices that makes it possible to alert users across both iOS and Android if such a device is unknowingly being used to track them,” Apple says in aNewsroom post. “This will help mitigate the misuse of devices designed to help keep track of belongings.”
The company goes on to explain how iPhone users will be able to view the tracker’s identifier, have it play a sound, and then set about disabling it. This will work for Bluetooth trackers made by the likes of Chipolo, eufy, Jio, Motorola, and Pebblebee, the post says.
Conspicuous by its absence in the post is the field’s pioneer Tile, with the company said to be considering its own overriding network powered by satellite.
Google announced theFind My Device networkwas finally going live last month, following its announcement at Google I/O last year.
The release was delayed until Google and Apple could agree on a shared standard to ensure users were protected regardless of the platform they’re using. Now Apple has finally got its ducks in a row with iOS 17.5, the protections have arrived.
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Chris Smith is a freelance technology journalist for a host of UK tech publications, including Trusted Reviews. He’s based in South Florida, USA. …
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Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
