Google and Apple partner to fight location tracker stalking

Apple
and


Google
announced
Monday
that
updated

iPhones
and
Android
phones
will
show
alerts
warning
users
that
there
is
a
wireless
location
tracking
device
nearby,
in
case
the
user
was
not
aware
they
were
being
tracked
and
wants
to
stop
it.

The
move
is
the
latest
sign
that
the
two
major
platforms
are
working
to
fix
the
downside
of
wireless
trackers
—
such
as
Apple’s
AirTag
—
that
can
be
useful
for
finding
lost
or
stolen
objects
by
displaying
their
location
on
a
digital
map,
but
can
also
be
used
by
criminals
to
track
people.

IPhone
and
Android
devices
with
up-to-date
software
will
receive
a
message
telling
them
that
a
Bluetooth
tracker
is “found
moving
with
you.”
Users
can
then
have
the
tracker
play
a
sound
to
make
it
easier
to
find,
and
access
instructions
on
how
to
disable
it.

When
AirTags
were
first
introduced
by
Apple
in
2021,
they
quickly
found
an
audience
among
users
who
would
attach
the
tiny
devices
to
their
keys,

luggage
or
even

their
car,
allowing
them
to
use
Apple’s
global
network
of
devices
and
crowdsourced
Bluetooth
signals
to
quickly
locate
their
lost
objects,
such
as
checked
baggage
that
never
arrived
after
a
flight.

But
the
devices
were
also
used
for
crime,
and
some
victims
said
they
were
slipped
an
AirTag
at
a

crowded
bar
to
be
tracked.
Since
then,
Apple
has
been
working
with
Google
to

integrate
alerts
and
warnings
into
iOS
and
Android
to
tamp
down
criminal
misuse.
Alerts
specifically
warning
against
an
AirTag
traveling
with
the
user
were
already
built
into
Android.

The
AirTag
is
also
now
just
one
of
many
Bluetooth
trackers.
Apple
and
Google
allow
third-party
companies,
such
as
Chipolo
and
Motorola,
to
build
their
own
devices.

But
when
third-party
companies
build
so-called “Find
My”
lost
device
trackers,
they
have
to
build
them
to
Apple
and
Google’s
specifications,
which
will
now
require
unwanted
tracking
alerts.

Apple
and
Google
said
they
were
working
together
to
create
a
public
industry
specification
for
these
kinds
of
Bluetooth
tracker
devices,
but
although
the
official
standard
is
not
finished,
both
companies
have
implemented
the
alerts
into
their
operating
systems,
starting
with
Apple’s
iOS
17.5,
which
will
be
released
on
Monday,
and
Android
devices
with
version
6.0
or
newer.