4 ms·

You're missing the point. When OP says "How do I protect myself against this, if I am an Android user?" it's clear that the more relevant point is meant to be "

You're missing the point. When OP says "How do I protect myself against this, if I am an Android user?" it's clear that the more relevant point is meant to be "if I am not an iPhone user". He won't be participating in the network, but he's also unable to be warned of being tracked which does seem unfortunate.

FabHK 5y ago
Unless I'm mistaken, he's being warned of being tracked by the AirTag beeping when moved, and displaying information on any NFC capable device (such as most Android phones).
- TeMPOraL 5y ago
  AirTags are talking regular Bluetooth 5, not some magic Apple variation of it, right? That would imply my Android phone should be able to see them. For example, I should be able to poke at them using nRF Toolbox app I have installed. (We have only so many iPhone users in Poland, and I currently live in a small town, so I can't just experimentally check it right now.) If that's true, then one should be able to write an app that scans for AirTags in the background and warns you about their presence. I'd hope someone will do this. I'd also hope this would eventually be included in the Android OS itself, perhaps as a generalized facility to detect Tile/AirTag-like devices around you. Long time ago, there were these things called "beacons", that IIRC started with Apple introducing iBeacon spec/protocol. They used BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) to announce themselves. Some of those were used for the purpose of tracking your belongings[0]. I assume AirTags must be substantially different from that, because saw zero mentions of the Beacons in articles and discussions about AirTags so far. -- [0] - I even bought a bunch of these on Aliexpress to play with, but didn't want to install the vendor's sketchy app, so I ended up not using them (but I could make them beep and give me some telemetry by poking them over BLE directly). They worked off a CR2032, but there was no "tracking network" back then - you'd connect these tags to your phone, and they'd just start beeping when they disconnected from your phone. A pretty unreliable design, given BLE can be flaky when mixed with apps, battery saving modes, and thick walls in an apartment. Unfortunately, all the non-sketchy makers of BLE beacons seem to have focused entirely on the retailer market - i.e. using them to push spam to your phone as you walk through a mall. I lost all my interest in that technology then.
  - darkarmani 5y ago
    I guess you could jam BT5 as well.
alibarber 5y ago
I think this reply is basically saying that if you’re worried about law enforcement tracking you via an airtag, yet you’re already using an Android - or indeed any other phone, then you’re worrying about the wrong thing. I think they’re also suggesting that an iPhone is slightly better for privacy due to its MAC address randomisation - but I don’t know enough about this and Android equivalent or lack of it to comment.
stuff4ben 5y ago
No you're missing the point in that it doesn't matter. If you're on Android or iPhone, you're already being tracked. Airtags just piles on to this pile of privacy wasting garbage.
- dyingkneepad 5y ago
  Airtag opens the possibility for normal people to easily track you. With Android is just the tech companies and entities that have control over them.
  - sneak 5y ago
    GPS tracking devices with integrated cellular to upload real-time location 24/7 are already widely available to the general public. Airtags aren't some new possibility.
    - a4isms 5y ago
      My partner and I had GPS trackers on our MTBs almost a decade ago, with cellular data just as you describe. Our doubled as rear lights, but the same company sold another model that could be hidden inside the frame, amd a thid model designed to be attached to cars, boats, motorcycles, &c. Stalking via GPS tracker is not new. What is new is going to be the “crime of opportunity:” Somebody who doesn’t plan and think through how to stalk somebody else, but in the heat of the moment they decide to try it, and the AirTags or Tiles or whatever they already own is close at hand. I suspect that’s the factor of concern with AirTags being likely to become ubiquitous.

FabHK 5y ago

Unless I'm mistaken, he's being warned of being tracked by the AirTag beeping when moved, and displaying information on any NFC capable device (such as most Android phones).

TeMPOraL 5y ago
AirTags are talking regular Bluetooth 5, not some magic Apple variation of it, right? That would imply my Android phone should be able to see them. For example, I should be able to poke at them using nRF Toolbox app I have installed. (We have only so many iPhone users in Poland, and I currently live in a small town, so I can't just experimentally check it right now.) If that's true, then one should be able to write an app that scans for AirTags in the background and warns you about their presence. I'd hope someone will do this. I'd also hope this would eventually be included in the Android OS itself, perhaps as a generalized facility to detect Tile/AirTag-like devices around you. Long time ago, there were these things called "beacons", that IIRC started with Apple introducing iBeacon spec/protocol. They used BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) to announce themselves. Some of those were used for the purpose of tracking your belongings[0]. I assume AirTags must be substantially different from that, because saw zero mentions of the Beacons in articles and discussions about AirTags so far. -- [0] - I even bought a bunch of these on Aliexpress to play with, but didn't want to install the vendor's sketchy app, so I ended up not using them (but I could make them beep and give me some telemetry by poking them over BLE directly). They worked off a CR2032, but there was no "tracking network" back then - you'd connect these tags to your phone, and they'd just start beeping when they disconnected from your phone. A pretty unreliable design, given BLE can be flaky when mixed with apps, battery saving modes, and thick walls in an apartment. Unfortunately, all the non-sketchy makers of BLE beacons seem to have focused entirely on the retailer market - i.e. using them to push spam to your phone as you walk through a mall. I lost all my interest in that technology then.
- darkarmani 5y ago
  I guess you could jam BT5 as well.

alibarber 5y ago

I think this reply is basically saying that if you’re worried about law enforcement tracking you via an airtag, yet you’re already using an Android - or indeed any other phone, then you’re worrying about the wrong thing. I think they’re also suggesting that an iPhone is slightly better for privacy due to its MAC address randomisation - but I don’t know enough about this and Android equivalent or lack of it to comment.

stuff4ben 5y ago

No you're missing the point in that it doesn't matter. If you're on Android or iPhone, you're already being tracked. Airtags just piles on to this pile of privacy wasting garbage.

dyingkneepad 5y ago
Airtag opens the possibility for normal people to easily track you. With Android is just the tech companies and entities that have control over them.
- sneak 5y ago
  GPS tracking devices with integrated cellular to upload real-time location 24/7 are already widely available to the general public. Airtags aren't some new possibility.
  - a4isms 5y ago
    My partner and I had GPS trackers on our MTBs almost a decade ago, with cellular data just as you describe. Our doubled as rear lights, but the same company sold another model that could be hidden inside the frame, amd a thid model designed to be attached to cars, boats, motorcycles, &c. Stalking via GPS tracker is not new. What is new is going to be the “crime of opportunity:” Somebody who doesn’t plan and think through how to stalk somebody else, but in the heat of the moment they decide to try it, and the AirTags or Tiles or whatever they already own is close at hand. I suspect that’s the factor of concern with AirTags being likely to become ubiquitous.