Google and Apple team up to combat location trackers

Tile stickers and Apple AirTags

Todd Haselton | CNBC

apple and Google Update announced on Monday iPhone and Android The phone will display an alert warning the user that a wireless location tracking device is nearby, in case the user is unaware they are being tracked and wants to stop it.

The move is the latest sign that the two platforms are working to address shortcomings of wireless trackers, such as Apple’s AirTags, that can locate lost or stolen items by showing their location on a digital map. But it can also be used to track people by criminals.

iPhone and Android devices with the latest software will receive a message telling them that it “found a Bluetooth tracker moving with you.” Users can then have the tracker play a sound to make it easier to find it, and access instructions on how to deactivate it.

When Apple first launched AirTags in 2021, they quickly found an audience among users willing to attach the tiny devices to their keys, luggageeven their carallowing them to use Apple’s global network of devices and crowdsourced Bluetooth signals to quickly locate lost items — such as checked luggage that never arrived after a flight.

But the devices have also been used in crimes, with some victims saying they had an AirTag stuffed somewhere. Crowded bars need tracking. Since then, Apple has been working with Google to integrate alerts and warnings into iOS and Android to curb criminal abuse. Android already has built-in alerts specifically warning users to travel with AirTags.

AirTag is now just one of many Bluetooth trackers. Apple and Google allow third-party companies like Chipolo and Motorola to build their own devices.

But when third-party companies build so-called Find My lost device trackers, they must build them to Apple and Google’s specifications, which now requires unwanted tracking alerts.

Apple and Google say they are working together to create public industry specifications for such Bluetooth tracker devices, and while official standards are not yet complete, both companies have implemented alerts into their respective operating systems, starting with Apple’s iOS 17.5. It will be released on Monday for Android devices running version 6.0 or higher.