Google is reportedly working on adding tracker detection directly to Android. AirTags and Tiles would be particularly affected.
With the arrival of AirTags and SmartTags, the market for Bluetooth trackers has seen a real resurgence of interest in 2021. Very quickly, concerns around fraudulent use of such devices have arisen quite legitimately, leading Apple to release a sound tracker detection application on Android at the end of 2021, or Tile more recently.
According to 9to5Google, Google has reportedly been working since the middle of March on bringing a tracker detection feature built right into Android. This novelty would integrate Google Play Services, offering it compatibility with many devices, even old ones.
“Notification of unknown tracker detected”
The specialized site has found in the latest version of Google Play Services a series of character strings that leave little doubt. We can read there that Google would consider adding a notification for “unknown tracker detected”. Three types of devices are named: Airtags, Tiles and Finder Tag, without it being clear which devices this last point refers to.
Once a tracker has been detected, it would even be possible to get it to ring to better locate it and thus get rid of it.
Of course, this is a feature still in development, so it’s not yet clear what exact form it will take. Will the user have to trigger the scan manually or will it be background protection, as is the case on iPhones? We don’t know yet.
As 9to5Google points out, given the real risks that accompany these devices, it would not be uninteresting if the brands concerned (Samsung, Apple and Tile) managed to agree on an interoperability standard between their trackers.
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