When an Apple Airtag is used to track people illegally, help is needed immediately. How to protect your privacy by tracking down and disabling the Airtag.
An Apple Airtag is extremely practical for locating and finding private items at any time. However, criminal subjects also use the compact trackers to monitor unauthorized persons and their movements.
Luckily, you can easily determine if someone has planted an Airtag on you and track it down to protect your privacy and render it harmless. If you actually find what you are looking for, you can definitely report the matter – because secretly monitoring people is a criminal offence.
In addition, Apple promises to cooperate with the victims of stalking attempts using Airtag and the prosecuting authorities. In other words, the culprit can be clearly identified and prosecuted with the help of the provider.
First you have to find the Airtag for it. Netzwelt explains how this works with an iPhone and Android smartphone:
Find someone else’s Airtag with your iPhone
If you have an iPhone, you’ll automatically see a warning if someone else’s AirTag moves with you for a while. However, this only works if the following conditions are met:
- Your device has iOS 14.5 or higher
- Bluetooth must be switched on
- Airplane mode must not be activated
- Location determination via the “Where is?” app must be activated
This is how you find the tracker with the iPhone
1As soon as you see such a message, you can use the “Where is?” app to find the alien airtag. You can use the “Play sound” function to find the Airtag. You can repeat this action as often as you like if you don’t find the tracker right away.
2If you have an iPhone 11 or a newer device, you can use the “Search” function in the “Where is?” app to find the exact position of the airtag.
3Once the alien Airtag has been found and identified, it is best to save the associated data via screenshot before deactivating the tracker.
If you have not received a notification about the foreign airtag, the tracker will draw attention to itself: If it has been separated from its owner for a long time, a sound signal will be emitted automatically at regular intervals. So if it beeps in your car or from your handbag, you can check your iPhone settings in addition to the manual search and track down the Airtag using the “Where is?” app.
Android system users can also detect foreign air tags in their vicinity. However, an additional app is required for this. The “Tracker Finder” app, which you can download for free from the Google Play Store, comes directly from Apple itself.
Find Airtag with Android smartphone: With this app it works
1Apple’s “tracker detection” in the Google Play Store makes it possible to track down foreign air tags – however, the search for them must be carried out actively.
Disable Airtag: No signal without battery
1If you have successfully located the foreign Airtag and saved the associated information via a screenshot, you can now deactivate the tracker. All you have to do is gently press the shiny surface with the Apple logo in two opposite places and then unscrew it counterclockwise.
- 2
Now remove the included button battery from the Airtag – without a power supply you are safe from further pursuit. If in doubt, move away from the last location where the airtag was active.
In another guide, we will show you how to pair an AirTag with your iPhone.
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