Apple and Google have joined forced to offer support for unwanted tracking alerts in both iOS and Android. The new industry specification, Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers, is for Bluetooth tracking devices and it makes it possible to alert you if a device is unknowingly being used to track you. The idea is to help mitigate the misuse of devices designed to help keep track of belongings.
Today Apple is implementing this capability in iOS 17.5, and Google is now launching this capability on Android 6.0+ devices.
With this new capability, a person can get an “[Item] Found Moving With You” alert on a device if an unknown Bluetooth tracking device is seen moving with you over time, regardless of the platform the device is paired with.
If you get such an alert on an iOS device, it means that someone else’s AirTag, Find My accessory, or other industry specification-compatible Bluetooth tracker is moving with you. It’s possible the tracker is attached to an item you are 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.
Bluetooth tag manufacturers including Chipolo, eufy, Jio, Motorola, and Pebblebee have committed that future tags will be compatible.
Through a cross-platform collaboration with AirTag, Apple offers instructions and best practices for manufacturers should they choose to build unwanted tracking alert capabilities into their products.
Apple and Google will continue to work with the Internet Engineering Task Force via the Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers working group to develop the official standard for this technology.