Google rolls out anti-stalking measures for AirTag and other Bluetooth trackers

gelberhut@lemdro.id to Technology@lemmy.world – 200 points – Google rolls out anti-stalking measures for AirTag and other Bluetooth trackers | Engadget
engadget.com

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

28

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!

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.

They can’t get the tag off my bike without specific tools, so if they’re warned that the bike they stole is tracking them and it leads to them abandoning the bike somewhere, all the better for me.

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?

Edit: I realized I asked my question poorly. I get they're a tracking device. My understanding is they're a Bluetooth device that do not have direct Internet access on their own; how is their location being updated if you're not pairing with them to allow them access to your device?

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.

It’s a literal tracking chip so someone could dump it on you and therefore track you

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.

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

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.

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

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.

They connect to other devices and report their locations. There have been several cases of them being used for stalking.

My understanding is they’re a Bluetooth device that do not have direct Internet access on their own; how is their location being updated if you’re not pairing with them to allow them access to your device?

Apple allows them to connect to any device in the "Find My" network and phone home, regardless of who it belongs to. Presumably that includes you driving next to someone with an iPhone if the tag is in your car. It's supposed to also alert you f it's determined to be travelling with you and the owner is not nearby, but I think that requires you to also have an Apple device, or install and actively use Apple's Tracker Detect app for Android.

https://www.apple.com/airtag/#:~:text=How%20does%20it%20work

Ah, so very similar to what Amazon did with Sidewalk a few years back. I shocked people are ok with allowing this data through their devices. Sidewalk caused a massive backlash because of privacy and data rate concerns.

it's a bit different, in that they're just constantly broadcasting a singular id, over and over. The "tracking" is the application on various devices which receive the broadcast and report it to Apple, along with that device's location.

Sidewalk was packing up actual user data and running it over your network, which has other implications.

If you keep an AirTag in your car, would it alert a thief that they were being tracked if they stole your car?

I've been told that it already does if they are iphone users

There should be a way to register it to property somehow. Might not be feasible for bikes and such but cars generally have Bluetooth or some sort of connection

There’s also an Android app Apple put out that will alert you, but the downside is, you have to have it running constantly for it to do so.

@autotldr@lemmings.world I wonder if this thing can bypass intrusive GDPR screens like this site

Does this mean my Chipolo ONE Point will finally ship?

AFAIK were stuck waiting until Apple rolls out their version of tracker alerts