Google rolls out anti-stalking measures for AirTag and other Bluetooth trackers | Engadget
www.engadget.com
Google’s anti-stalking measures are rolling out.

I do not think that somebody will track me with a physical tracker, but still nice to have some protection.

  • BanditMcDougal@lemmy.worldEnglish
    8·
    1 year ago

    I’m not a big Apple person, so I’ve not really cared about Airtags, so I’m probably missing something. If I don’t allow them to connect to my device, how are they a concern?

    • accidental@lemmy.sdf.orgEnglish
      47·
      1 year ago

      if I want to follow you home, I buy an airtag, drop it in your purse/truck bed/gym bag, wait for 45m and then go to where the airtag is.

      That’s why it’s referring to anti stalking protections; the devices work too well, and allow you to track all sorts of things, even stuff that doesn’t belong to you, or that has the agency to not want you to.

      • gelberhut@lemdro.idOPEnglish
        41·
        1 year ago

        Somebody with an iphone puts an airtag in your bag/car/etc and track you. Airtag is that usable because it can be located by other people’s iphones (and you will be reported), otherwise it would be mostly useless.

        • stevedidWHAT@lemmy.worldEnglish
          2·
          1 year ago

          Yep you got it! Specifically only the person who bought the AirTag and registered it.

          Apple is rolling out the newest generation of them soon so hopefully it will get addressed/secured further.

          It’s a tough problem that I’m not sure there’s a solution for besides notifying nearby people that it’s there

    • Mic_Check_One_Two@reddthat.comEnglish
      13·
      1 year ago

      If someone sticks one to your car, they can track everywhere you go and you’d never realize it. The big thing with AirTags is that they aren’t just local tracking. They have access to the entire FindMy network, which is comprised of every single iOS device. So any time you drive past an iPhone, the AirTag is able to report in with your latest location.

      With an iOS device, you’ll get an automatic alert if you’re being followed by an unfamiliar tag that hasn’t connected to its paired device in a while. So like if you’re with a friend, you won’t get alerts for their AirTag because the tag is near your friend’s paired phone. But if that friend drops their AirTag into your bag and you go home, you’ll get an alert that you’re being followed by an AirTag.

      • Fogle@lemmy.caEnglish
        0·
        1 year ago

        I swear I’ve seen they alert someone that there’s an airbag near them that isn’t theirs

        • Mic_Check_One_Two@reddthat.comEnglish
          1·
          1 year ago

          There has been an app for it, but you had to manually download and run the app to get alerts. It wasn’t an automatic thing like it is with iOS.

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    5·
    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    The company’s unknown tracker alerts and other safety measures, announced at Google I/O in May, should start appearing on Android 6.0+ devices beginning today.

    If your Android phone notifies you about a discovered tracking accessory, you can tap on the alert to learn more about it, including a map of where it traveled with you and (in some cases) a serial number and info about the device’s owner.

    Once your phone receives the update, navigate to Settings > Safety & Emergency > Unknown Tracker Alerts, and select the “Scan now” button.

    Google says the manual search only takes about ten seconds, and if it finds one, you’ll see the same options as if you received an automatic alert.

    Google decided to wait for Apple to implement its full unknown tracking protections into iOS before rolling out the new feature.

    Note that Google’s anti-stalking measures may reduce the effectiveness of following tracked stolen items on a map since enterprising thieves can soon quickly discover hidden trackers, no matter which phone they use.

    I’m a bot and I’m open source!