New iOS Update Makes Tracker Device Alerts A Universal Feature On All Smartphones
New iOS Update Makes Tracker Device Alerts A Universal Feature On All Smartphones
Apple today is announcing the iOS 17.5 update which contains one important feature that Google has waited for the Cupertino company to finally make available: unwanted tracking alerts. Both Google and Apple announced last year that they would design a universal standard to prevent stalking incidents facilitated by the use of AirTag-like products, and with the latest iOS update, both Android and iOS users can now detect unknown tracking devices regardless of which device they own.
On Apple’s part, here’s how the company describes the feature:
With this new capability, users will now get an “[Item] Found Moving With You” alert on their device if an unknown Bluetooth tracking device is seen moving with them over time, regardless of the platform the device is paired with.
If a user gets such an alert on their iOS device, it means that someone else’s AirTag, Find My accessory, or other industry specification-compatible Bluetooth tracker is moving with them. It’s possible the tracker is attached to an item the user is borrowing, but if not, iPhone can view the tracker’s identifier, have the tracker play a sound to help locate it, and access instructions to disable it.
On a more technical level, both Apple and Google’s implementation relies on an industry standard called Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers, or DULT for short. This specification was finalized and ready by the end of 2023, though Google has gotten ahead of the curve and has already implemented this feature in all Android devices with version 6.0 and above since mid-2023. Other third-party makers of location trackers have announced that their devices will comply with the new standard as well.
This is a hugely important feature – malicious actors have used trackers like AirTags, Galaxy SmartTags, and other similar devices to secretly track specific persons, posing great danger to the victims. Apple, in particular, has been hit with class-action lawsuits in the US as a result of such incidents, and the legal process is still ongoing.
Source: Engadget | 9to5Google
Pokdepinion: A very important update to mitigate the risks of stalkers.
