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Apple AirTag has proven to be a boon to criminals. That’s why, and there are several ways to deal with unwanted tracking.
Introduced last April, the coat button-sized AirTag is a Bluetooth tracking device designed to help you find keys, backpacks, wallets, devices, or personal items you want to track. It uses Apple’s crowdsourced Find My network to track things. As of 2021, this network boasts approximately 1 billion devices worldwide. Requires iOS 14.5 and iPad iOS 14.5 or later.
AirTags can help you find lost items by displaying a map of your location or making a sound. If you have an iPhone 11 or later, you can use Precision Finding to find your AirTag. This gives you direct access to AirTag.
I have a problem here
AirTag has excellent designed features. The problem is that stalkers and thieves soon understood this. And now, the growing chorus of voices claims that Apple underestimates the dangers of the device.
A Tennessee family visited Disney World and stated that Apple’s Airtag was used to track them.
According to reports, AirTag is increasingly being used for stalking. For example, according to a sub-investigation, of a total of 150 police reports mentioning AirTag from eight police stations in eight months, 50 cases contacted police for receiving notification that a woman was being tracked by AirTag. There was a case. They didn’t own it.
“Twenty-five of them were able to identify men in their lives, including former partners, husbands, and bosses who strongly suspected they had planted AirTag in their cars to track and harass them.” Mr. Vice said.
Another report earlier this year shows that the stalker secretly placed the AirTag on the supermodel’s court, moved from bar to bar, and then followed for five hours before returning home.
And this recent law enforcement video details how criminals attach AirTags to their vehicles, track them to their owners’ homes, and steal their cars at their convenience.
How to stop unwanted tracking
Apple’s notification system, which warns you about unknown devices, is intended to detect different devices and can be confusing.
Confusion occurs when trying to figure out if a device is unnecessary, potentially threatening, or simply harmless and unknown.
But in the worst case, if you don’t need AirTag, you should see a pop-up notification on your iPhone within a few hours that says “AirTag Found Moving With You,” as Apple explains on its support page that covers unwanted tracking. “Find My” will display a map of where AirTag was observed with you.
Also, unwanted AirTags placed on an item should start beeping when the item is moved.
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Apple announced in February that it will add Precision Finding in its AirTag and unwanted tracking updates. This allows recipients of unwanted tracking alerts to more accurately find unknown AirTags when using iPhone 11, iPhone 12, or iPhone 13.
Apple has also released an app called Tracker Detect for Android users on Google Play.
Third-party apps are also available that can help you find a Bluetooth device in your area. (See MacWorld: How to find, block, and disable unknown AirTags that are moving with you.)
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Finally, if you find an unwanted AirTag, you can completely disable it by removing the battery cover. This is done by twisting the back of the tracker counterclockwise and then removing the battery.
According to Apple, AirTag is designed to help people find their belongings, rather than tracking people or others’ property.
In a February statement, Apple said, “We saw reports of malicious individuals attempting to abuse AirTag for malicious and criminal purposes. Apple works closely with various safety groups and law enforcement agencies. I’ve done it. “
Fox News contacted Apple for comment.