Apple Updates AirTag To Combat Stalkers

Apple AirTags are incredibly good at finding things. They can track your items down to 0.1 feet. But that accuracy means that, in the wrong hands, they can be used as sophisticated tracking tools. Apple has said that it will update the iPhone and AirTag software to show a message during setup that using AirTags to track people is a crime in many regions around the world.

The new safety feature comes after reports of women discovering the devices in their personal belongings.

The button-sized devices are designed to work with Apple's 'Find My' network to locate lost items. AirTag lets users keep track of personal items like their keys, wallet, purse, backpack, luggage, and more through the Find My app. Since AirTag’s launch in 2021, users have written in to share countless stories of AirTag being instrumental in reuniting them with the things they value. But the devices can be misused to track people by being hidden in a car, or on a personal item such as a bag.

A number of women have told the BBC that they had been followed by people using AirTags and part of the software changes to make this type misuse harder. The company said its changes to the device will make suspicious tags easier to find and alert users earlier that an AirTag may be travelling with them.

Apple says that every user setting up their AirTag for the first time will see a message warning that using the device to track people without consent is a crime in many regions around the world. The company said it will also add to a feature that makes an AirTag that hasn't been with the person who registered it for an extended period of time, play a sound when moved. This could reveal the presence of an AirTag to a stalking victim.

Currently, iPhone users (and Android users who download an app) receive "unwanted tracking" alerts if an unknown AirTag moves with them. Apple claims that people will be alerted earlier that an unknown AirTag is travelling with them. When people are warned of "unwanted tracking" by an AirTag, users of iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 13 devices will be able to use "precision finding", to see the distance and direction to an unknown AirTag when it is in range. Previously only the owner of the AirTag could do this. Now, iOS users can send an unwanted tracking alert to make the suspect AirTag play tones and Apple has said tags will use louder tones in the future to make the tag easier to locate. 

Using AirTag to track people without consent is a crime in many jurisdictions around the world and the software upgrade is  designed to be detected by victims, so that law enforcement can request information about the owner of the AirTag and identify malicious users.

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