Apple finally adds iPhone alerts for third-party Bluetooth trackers

Good News from Apple!!! With iOS 17.5, iPhones can now alert users when unauthorized Bluetooth trackers follow you, even if they aren’t AirTags.

Apple and Google have worked together to create an industry specification — Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers — for Bluetooth tracking devices that make it possible to alert users across both iOS and Android if such a device is unknowingly being used to track them. This will 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 launching this capability on Android 6.0+ devices.

With this new capability, users will now get an “[Item] Found Moving With You” alert on their device if an unknown Bluetooth tracking device is seen moving with them over time, regardless of the platform the device is paired with.

If a user gets such an alert on their iOS device, it means that someone else’s AirTag, Find My accessory or other industry specification-compatible Bluetooth tracker is moving with them. It’s possible the tracker is attached to an item the user is borrowing, but if not, iPhone users 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 to making future tags compatible. AirTag and third-party Find My network accessories were designed with industry-first privacy and safety protections. Apple has remained committed to innovating and supplementing these protections to keep consumers safe.

This cross-platform collaboration involving community and industry input — 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.

The Verge: https://www.theverge.com/2024/5/13/24155630/apple-google-airtag-bluetooth-tracker-alert-standard

From Apple: How to identify and protect yourself from Bluetooth tracking
https://support.apple.com/en-us/119874

David’s January 2022 blog post about air tag stalking: https://actsmartit.com/apple-air-tags-being-used-to-track-people/