There have been many reports of Apple?s item tracker AirTag being misused for stalking or tracking someone down without their consent. With the problem now getting bigger with each passing day, Apple has said that it now plans to improve AirTag?s safeguards against unwanted tracking later this year. Apple has said that it is bringing a feature that will alert users sooner when an unknown AirTag is detected on them. ?AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or another person’s property, and we condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products,? Apple said in a press release.
The new feature will also make unknown AirTags easier to find by ?adjusting the tone sequence? which could make AirTags sound louder, and will guide people to the unknown AirTag using the ultra wideband chip on the newer AirTags. Apple, in its release, also acknowledged that it has seen an increased amount of reports where people report using AirTags for malicious reasons and writes that it?s ?actively working with law enforcement on all AirTag related requests.?
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The important thing here is that Apple has said that it will work on its algorithm to notify users more quickly. The company has said that iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 13 users will be able to use a feature called Precision Finding that will give them the exact location of an unknown AirTag.
When receiving alerts, Apple says that it will begin sending notifications to iPhones simultaneously when an unknown AirTag plays a sound alert. Currently, if a user misses the sound, there won?t necessarily be a notifications waiting for them. This is meant to help in cases where an AirTag?s speaker may have been tampered with. Apple also says that it will focus on louder sounds.
Further, Apple says that in upcoming updates, anyone setting up an AirTag will see a new privacy warning that states that using AirTags for unwanted tracking is a criminal act. The message will also highlight that vitcims will be notified if they detect an unwanted AirTag and law enforcement can request identifying information on an AirTag owner. The company is also updating its support documents to include more details explaining what may trigger an alert and what to do after receiving one.
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