Apple Making Moves to Stop AirTag Stalking
Image via Apple
Apple is working to make stalking by AirTag harder to do. Engadget says the Cupertino-company published “an update on AirTag and unwanted tracking,” on Thursday. After addressing the seriousness of the issue, as well as some of the innocent or accidental ways a person might get a “you’re being followed” type notification, Apple listed a few plans for fighting the problem. Among them:
Warning users during AirTag setup that using the device to track people without their knowledge is a crime in a lot of places, and that Apple might have to tell authorities who they are, if asked
The company plans to tweak the on-screen messaging, differentiating between an “Unknown Accessory Detected” and a pair of AirPods detected
The company has also updated its unwanted tracking support article with more granular info about how devices and the Find My network work. It’s also added “links to resources individuals can use if they feel their safety is at risk, such as the National Network to End Domestic Violence and the National Center for Victims of Crime”
The company also promises a series of updates later this year, including:
Precision Finding: letting users of iPhone 11, 12, and 13 locate an unknown AirTag exactly
Display alert with sound: Rather than just the beeping, an alert will also be displayed on a potential victim’s iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Apple says, “This will help in cases where the AirTag may be in a location where it is hard to hear, or if the AirTag speaker has been tampered with.”
Refining unwanted tracking alert logic
Tuning AirTag’s sound
No word on when those updates will be out. One hopes they won’t be iOS 16 additions, since that probably won’t be out for another eight-months.