Wired
In news on the morning of February 11, in response to concerns that AirTag and the Find My network were being used for illegal tracking, while quelling user concerns about the issue, Apple announced that it would be making some changes this year.
The company reiterated that AirTag is “primarily about helping people find their personal belongings, not tracking others,” and these upcoming changes revolve around that.
AirTag is a Bluetooth anti-lost device released by Apple last year. Although it was originally intended to be used with items such as keys, schoolbags and other items to find lost items, many criminals use it for illegal tracking or car theft, which has caused people’s concerns. .
Apple acknowledged that Valve has been “actively cooperating with law enforcement” on AirTag-related requests. But Apple also mentioned that “AirTag abuse incidents are actually rare”, but “there are too many instances” (that is, there are more publicity and not many actual uses). They said they had “successfully worked” with law enforcement in these cases to trace the AirTag back to the person responsible for the accident.
Perhaps it is because of these hidden dangers. Apple has announced that they will be updating the legal terms for their existing AirTag and Find My search networks.
New Privacy Alert
First, Apple says that in an “coming software update,” every user who sets up AirTag will see a new message that “clearly states” that AirTag is for tracking things, not people. The alert also makes it clear that AirTags are associated with your Apple ID, and law enforcement can request this identifying information.
Alerting improvements for clearer trackers
Apple has also significantly improved notifications for users on the iPhone when unknown Find Network accessories (including AirTag and similar) are detected nearby.
In the past, users may have seen vague “unknown attachment detected” alerts on the iPhone’s lock screen and in the Find My app. Likewise, this notification was previously shown to users when AirPods 3, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, or a third-party Find My accessory were near the user.
In the future, Apple says these alerts will be clearer and will identify the exact accessory. For example, if an unknown pair of AirPods Pro is detected “moving with you,” the alert will explicitly say “AirPods Pro detected” instead of “Unknown accessory detected.” The idea is that if people knew exactly what it was, it would be easier to find that unknown accessory.
Apple has also revised its support documentation for this feature so that users can clearly understand what the various types of “find” alerts mean. These changes will also apply to third-party accessories that integrate with Find Network.
Precise lookup supports unknown AirTags
The most notable change is support for using the exact lookup feature to find unknown AirTags.
Currently, exact search only supports the user’s own AirTag. In the future users will be able to use pinpoint lookup to locate unknown AirTags in their vicinity and, if tracked, make it easier to find the source.
AirTag sounds sharper
Apple is also improving AirTag’s existing security features, making the item tracker make random sounds for 8 and 24 hours.
When the AirTag automatically sounds a reminder sound, an alert will appear on nearby iPhones. That is, there are both sound and picture reminders.This is mainly for the previous news: Some people say that the buzzer of AirTag is broken, so that it can’t make a sound when it is used for tracking
Apple also says it will “adjust the tones of AirTag alerts” to “use more of the loudest tones,” which will make unknown AirTags easier to find.
Improved tracking alert logic
Finally, Apple promises to continue improving the tracking alert system to “notify users in advance that unknown AirTag or Find My network accessories may be moving with them.”
Some of the above changes are functions that were not so perfect before, and some are newly added. The goal is to more efficiently remind users that there are unknown AirTags around them. If a tracking event does happen, it can also remind users in a timely and clear manner.
Although Apple does not have a clear time when the functions will be launched, according to the current public opinion, these functions will be launched soon.
Find the biggest holes in the network and the AirTag alert system still exist on Android phones. The current Apple-provided Android version of the “Tracker Detect” app isn’t particularly useful. If someone maliciously tracks Android phone users with AirTag, other Tracker Detect won’t do much,
These may require cross-platform collaboration between Apple and Google to resolve.
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