Apple, Google Team Up to Fight Unwanted Tracking Devices

<p>Apple and Google are working together to create an industry specification — <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;datatracker&period;ietf&period;org&sol;doc&sol;draft-detecting-unwanted-location-trackers&sol;01&sol;" target&equals;"&lowbar;blank" rel&equals;"nofollow noopener" data-analytics-exit-link&equals;"">Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers<&sol;a> — for Bluetooth tracking devices that makes it possible to alert users across both iOS and Android if such a device is unknowingly being used to track them&period; This will help mitigate the misuse of devices designed to help keep track of belongings&period; Today Apple is implementing this capability in iOS 17&period;5&comma; and Google is now launching this capability on Android 6&period;0&plus; devices&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>With this new capability&comma; users will now get an &OpenCurlyDoubleQuote;&lbrack;Item&rsqb; Found Moving With You” alert on their device if an unknown Bluetooth tracking device is seen moving with them over time&comma; regardless of the platform the device is paired with&period;<&sol;p>&NewLine;<p>If a user gets such an alert on their iOS device&comma; it means that someone else’s AirTag&comma; Find My accessory&comma; or other industry specification-compatible Bluetooth tracker is moving with them&period; It’s possible the tracker is attached to an item the user is borrowing&comma; but if not&comma; iPhone can view the tracker’s identifier&comma; have the tracker play a sound to help locate it&comma; and access instructions to disable it&period; Bluetooth tag manufacturers including Chipolo&comma; eufy&comma; Jio&comma; Motorola&comma; and Pebblebee have committed that future tags will be compatible&period;<&sol;p><&sol;div>&NewLine;