Pact between Apple and Google, the Android phone will warn you if an Airtag is following you. In May of this year, Google announced its intention to introduce a security feature, alerting the user of Android devices to the presence of an AirTag, in case of suspicion of unwanted tracking.
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Google has begun to activate the anti-tracking functionality and says that Android smartphones will show automatic alerts when the Airtag is separated from the iPhone. With a tap on the notification it will be possible to view the last place where the tracker was located on a map, and you can take advantage of the “Make it ring” function to make the tracker emit a sound and locate it, just like it happens with iPhone Airtags .
In addition to this, if a tracker is found nearby, Google will display details about it such as the serial number, the last 4 digits of the phone number of the person registered as the owner of the tracker and details on how to deactivate it. Big G explains that a tracker scan function will also be available in the Security and Emergency section of Settings on compatible Android devices.
As known, Apple has provided automatic and transparent reporting of unwanted tracking for those with an iPhone. If an AirTag, a pair of AirPods, or other accessory is found on the Where It’s Separate network moving with us over time, iPhone will notify you to discourage tracking of people’s movements unbeknownst to them.
Those using an Android device must instead download the Tracker Detect app to locate an AirTag or an accessory in the Where is network that is no longer in the vicinity of the owner and that is moving with us.
If you find an AirTag after hearing it beep, you can use any NFC-enabled device, like an iPhone or Android phone, to see if the owner has marked it as lost and if we can help return it. If we believe an AirTag or accessory in the Find My network may be tracking people without their consent, we can obtain instructions on how to disable it.
Google extends this feature to all Android phones without the need to download the app. An extra convenience.
At the moment, the alerts on the presence of unknown trackers in the vicinity only take into account Apple’s AirTags, but Google has announced that it is working to offer similar functions also for trackers from other brands, such as those of Tile.
From Google’s notes it is not clear but it is likely that the technology is part of the project that Google itself has fielded with Apple to address the problem of unwanted tracking, countering the misuse of Bluetooth tracking devices for unwanted tracking.
The specification was submitted as an Internet Draft through the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), a standards development organization. Stakeholders have until August to review and comment; soon after, Apple and Google will work together to manage the feedback and, by the end of 2023, they will release a production version of the specification for unwanted tracking alerts, which will then be supported in future versions of iOS and Android.
The first-of-its-kind specification should enable such devices to support unauthorized location detection and alerts on iOS and Android platforms. Samsung, Tile, Chipolo, eufy Security and Pebblebee have expressed their support for the draft specification, which offers best practices and guidance for manufacturers who choose to integrate these features into their devices.
