Apple AirTag is a useful connected device that lets you keep track of your most important items, like keys, wallets, remote controls, and even bicycles. However, the use of AirTags to track people without their consent casts a shadow over their use.
That’s why Apple has made significant changes to what AirTags can be used for – and how they can be used – by informing AirTags owners that these trackers are only for tracking their belongings and never for tracking other people without their consent. And Apple also added the ability to see when an AirTag is detected as moving with you.
How do you know if an AirTag is tracking you?
What you need: An iPhone or Android smartphone. Here we will detail what happens on an iPhone when an AirTag follows you.
If you suspect someone is tracking your movements using an AirTag, your iPhone or Android smartphone can alert you before you have to do anything. If someone is following you without permission and you feel unsafe, contact law enforcement to obtain more information about the AirTag owner from Apple.
1. You can receive an alert on your iPhone
If you have an iPhone and an AirTag is tracking you, your smartphone can alert you of an “AirTag found moving with you.” This will happen under two conditions:
- The AirTag is separated from its owner.
- Your iPhone is running.
This can also happen with other accessories connected to Apple’s Locate network, like AirPods, AirPods Pro, AirPods Max, and others. AirTags, second-generation AirPods Pro, and other Find My network items can all make a sound when moved while separated from their owner.
This is the notification that an AirTag was found moving with you. Apple
2. Make sure tracking notifications are enabled
If you don’t receive an alert about an unknown AirTag nearby, you may need to take the following steps to ensure your tracking notifications are enabled:
- Go to Settings and select Privacy and Security.
- Tap on Location Services and activate Location service.
- Go to System services.
- Activate Find my iPhone And Important places.
- Return to Settings and select Bluetooth.
- Activate Bluetooth.
- Finally, go to the app Find My and touch the tab yourself Me (Me).
- Enable tracking notifications.
- Make sure that airplane mode is disabledotherwise you will not receive notifications.
In System Services, we will enable tracking notifications. Screenshot by Maria Diaz/ZDNET
3. Check the Find My app
When an AirTag is separated from its owner, it may make a sound when moved to make it easier for others to find. If you hear an AirTag – or another sound that you can’t recognize that might be an AirTag – you can open the Find My app on your Apple device. Make sure the second step is complete, then check the app to see if an AirTag was found.
Check your belongings for the hidden AirTag, making sure to search jackets and bags, and carefully checking your pockets, purse, and wallet.
4. Play a sound on the AirTag
If you visit the Find My app after being alerted that an AirTag was traveling with you, you can tap Play Sound on the device to find it more easily.
Similar to how you would track your own AirTag, you can access the Find My app by tapping the alert on your iPhone, tapping Continue, then tapping Find Nearby. Move around your space following the steps displayed on the screen.
The Play Sound option is only available if the AirTag owner is not nearby and their Apple device is not in range. The Precision Search feature is only available on iPhone 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 models with ultra-wideband technology.
If you can’t make a sound from the Find My app, chances are the unknown AirTag is no longer with you and your iPhone can’t find it nearby.
Apple
5. If you find an AirTag that doesn’t belong to you, check its information
Once you locate the AirTag that doesn’t belong to you, you can use your iPhone or other NFC-enabled smartphone to view the AirTag’s information. Simply hold the top of your smartphone near the white side of the found AirTag and wait for it to recognize it.
A notification is displayed when the NFC is scanned. You can tap this notification to go to a website that contains the AirTag’s serial number and the last four digits of the owner’s phone number.
If it’s a lost AirTag, the owner may have added their contact information to allow the person who finds it to contact them.
Touch an Apple AirTag with an NFC-enabled smartphone to see its information. Maria Diaz/ZDNET
6. Disable AirTag
Disabling an AirTag prevents its owner from seeing its current location or receiving updates.
To deactivate the AirTag, simply remove the battery. To do this, press the cover and turn it counterclockwise to open the AirTag, then remove the battery.
Maria Diaz/ZDNET
If you are concerned about unwanted tracking or are concerned for your safety, take screenshots throughout this process, including the device serial number and owner information, contact law enforcement order and hand over the deactivated AirTag to the authorities.
FAQs on detecting AirTags that could be tracking you without your knowledge
How do I know if an AirTag is tracking me on Android?
An unknown AirTag can travel with you and send tracking data to its owner, whether you have an iPhone or not.
If you’re an Android user, Google has added “unknown tracking alerts” for Android 6.0 and newer users. So if an AirTag is tracking you, your Android smartphone should let you know without having to install a separate Android app from the Google Play Store. This feature is only available for Apple devices to begin with, but it will be expanded to other devices in the future.
If your Android smartphone detects an AirTag traveling with you and that has been separated from its owner, it will allow you to search for the tracker and play a sound to find it, without the owner ever knowing that it has been found .
Do AirTags have GPS?
An AirTag does not have GPS. It uses the Find My network of nearly two billion iPhones, iPads, Apple Watches and Macs. It sends an anonymous Bluetooth signal that can be picked up by any of these Find My network devices within a 90 centimeter radius. These devices then send the AirTag’s location to iCloud, allowing users to see it in their own Find My app.
Due to the large number of Apple devices located around the world, Apple’s Find My network has become very reliable. Each Apple device is a node that grows the network, so a lost AirTag can transmit a precise location without GPS if it’s near an iPhone or other device on the Find My network.
How do I stop an Apple AirTag from tracking me?
The easiest way to stop an AirTag from tracking you is to remove the battery. This will deactivate the AirTag and its owner will no longer be able to see the tracking information. You can be sure that the owner will not receive a notification that the AirTag has been deactivated.
The Find My network connects different iPhones and Apple devices to AirTags to track their location. An AirTag can continue to track you unless you turn it off by removing its battery or stay permanently outside the Find My network, a difficult task with as many iPhone users as there are in the world .
Can anyone track my Apple AirTag?
Apple AirTags are designed to frequently change their unique Bluetooth IDs, and the Find My network, which allows users to track AirTags miles beyond Bluetooth range, features end-to-end encryption.
Although someone else can’t track your AirTag, they can hear it if it’s separated from you and moving, and they can see any contact information you choose to include if the person who finds it uses NFC technology.
Source: “ZDNet.com”