Earlier this year, Apple finally launched its long-awaited smart tracker called AirTag. As with competing products from Tile and Samsung, AirTags give you an easy way to keep track of important items like car keys, wallets, luggage, etc.
The big difference between AirTags and other trackers, however, is how they are tracked. AirTags use the power of one billion active iPhones worldwide. Without user interaction, AirTags ping nearby iPhones and help pinpoint their exact location using Apple’s Find My network. Privacy advocates were quick to point out that the small size of AirTags, as well as the hyper-accuracy of the Find My network, could allow nefarious users to track people or commit other privacy-compromising crimes.
Apple is now addressing these issues (via CNET). It greatly changes the way AirTags work. An AirTags Android app is also being rolled out this year, which can be used by people who don’t own an iPhone to find out if they’re being followed by an AirTag.
A big change, but little information about the AirTags Android app
The big change Apple is making now has to do with the time until an AirTag sends out a warning that it is likely being used to track a person. Basically, Apple’s software has methods to determine the likelihood of “people tracking”. When it detects that an AirTag is being used to track a person, the AirTag itself makes a sound. This sound would then alert the person being pursued to the presence of AirTags.
At launch, the AirTag would wait three days before making this sound. After this new update, the AirTag beeps at a random interval between eight and 24 hours after detection. Apple says this earlier warning window makes AirTags more secure without sacrificing usability.
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However, the AirTags Android app is the big missing piece of the puzzle. If you have an Android phone, this is the only sound you can tell about AirTag tracking. And once you find this AirTag, you will not be able to disable it on your phone or connect it to its owner. In theory, an Android app developed by Apple would solve these problems.
Although Apple made a commitment to launch an Android app this year, it didn’t give any details on how they would work or what features would be on board. It is possible that we can find out more about this at WWDC 2021, which starts next week.