5 ms·

And AirTags even alert those (iPhone users) being tracked so they are even less practical

by reed1234 5y ago

JohnTHaller 5y ago
Except for the folks who aren't iPhone users, which is the majority of people.
- Ekaros 5y ago
  Maybe some sort of audible alarm could be in order. Let say every 1-4h hours.
  - watermelon0 5y ago
    > AirTags will beep if they are away from their owner's iPhone - at a random time between eight and 24 hours However, it's possible to damage the speaker, so it becomes silent, without damaging the AirTag itself.
  - ZekeSulastin 5y ago
    They actually do start an audible alarm after being separated from their owner, starting sometime between 8 and 24h after separation. I don’t know the interval though.
  - oneplane 5y ago
    That's not great if someone steals your backpack and finds out you're tracking it.
- alwillis 5y ago
  Apple released an app for Android users to alert them if an AirTag is “following” them: https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/android-users-get-this-apple-app-if-you-dont-want-airtags-tracking-you/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/android-users-get-this-appl...
  - darkstar999 5y ago
    It has to be run manually as far as I can tell.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
    - nawgz 5y ago
      Sure, but this is clearly better than the situation for other existing technologies which are cheaper and can be used to the same ends. I don’t deny that this behavior is bad, but the anti-Apple sentiment here is a bit strange given they provide mitigations unlike traditional gps tracking companies
  - jeroenhd 5y ago
    That app requires you to click a button every time you think you're being followed. Then it'll scan and report any results. It won't warn you of an AirTag someone attached to your car, unless you make it a habit to constantly press "scan" all day. AirGuard (https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard) can do this for you, at the cost of battery life for having something scan for Bluetooth signals in the background all day. It's silly and honestly kind of sad that Apple's app doesn't provide this functionality. Perhaps Google should add this functionality to Play Services. They already have an API capable of running Bluetooth background scans constantly in the form of the COVID contact tracing API, so the technology is nearly there already.
    - tzs 5y ago
      > It won't warn you of an AirTag someone attached to your car, unless you make it a habit to constantly press "scan" all day. Wouldn't you only need to scan whenever you return to your car?
      - tzs 5y ago
        I may have been too terse. In more detail, if you want to know if someone tagged your car there is no point in running the scanner when you are out of range of your car. You only need to start scanning when you get in range. If you start scanning then and find that there are no tags, you only need to keep scanning if there are people around who might be able to sneak a tag on while you are there without you noticing. Once you get in and start driving you can stop scanning unless your threat model includes people tagging your car in the middle of your trip.
- derrasterpunkt 5y ago
  There is now an app called „Tracker Detect“ from Apple (for Android) to search for AirTags around you. It hasn’t the ability to use AirTags like on the iPhone but at least you can find one that has been left around you.
  - celsoazevedo 5y ago
    That app, which isn't available everywhere (why?), requires users to perform manual scans. It doesn't warn users that they're being tracked like iPhones do.
- ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago
  > which is the majority of people. Depends on where you live. I live in a fairly affluent area, and everyone has iPhones.
- kreeben 5y ago
  I've been using AirGuard on my Android. It's FOSS. Available on Play. https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard
  - muhehe 5y ago
    Love this. I'm gonna modify this to scan all airtags around and make them play a sound.
tuxone 5y ago
Has anyone got the same kind of alerts with AirPods 3/Pro? This is a recurrent issue while hanging out with SO, friends and family and the only devices that we believe carrying are those AirPods.
- oneplane 5y ago
  I think so, it depends on the firmware version and if you activated it as a 'thing' I think. I have one pair that does it and my significant other has one that doesn't but it's not being used as actively and not in Find My either.

And AirTags even alert those (iPhone users) being tracked so they are even less practical

JohnTHaller 5y ago

Except for the folks who aren't iPhone users, which is the majority of people.

Ekaros 5y ago
Maybe some sort of audible alarm could be in order. Let say every 1-4h hours.
- watermelon0 5y ago
  > AirTags will beep if they are away from their owner's iPhone - at a random time between eight and 24 hours However, it's possible to damage the speaker, so it becomes silent, without damaging the AirTag itself.
- ZekeSulastin 5y ago
  They actually do start an audible alarm after being separated from their owner, starting sometime between 8 and 24h after separation. I don’t know the interval though.
- oneplane 5y ago
  That's not great if someone steals your backpack and finds out you're tracking it.
alwillis 5y ago
Apple released an app for Android users to alert them if an AirTag is “following” them: https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/android-users-get-this-apple-app-if-you-dont-want-airtags-tracking-you/ https://www.cnet.com/tech/mobile/android-users-get-this-appl...
- darkstar999 5y ago
  It has to be run manually as far as I can tell.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - nawgz 5y ago
    Sure, but this is clearly better than the situation for other existing technologies which are cheaper and can be used to the same ends. I don’t deny that this behavior is bad, but the anti-Apple sentiment here is a bit strange given they provide mitigations unlike traditional gps tracking companies
- jeroenhd 5y ago
  That app requires you to click a button every time you think you're being followed. Then it'll scan and report any results. It won't warn you of an AirTag someone attached to your car, unless you make it a habit to constantly press "scan" all day. AirGuard (https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard) can do this for you, at the cost of battery life for having something scan for Bluetooth signals in the background all day. It's silly and honestly kind of sad that Apple's app doesn't provide this functionality. Perhaps Google should add this functionality to Play Services. They already have an API capable of running Bluetooth background scans constantly in the form of the COVID contact tracing API, so the technology is nearly there already.
  - tzs 5y ago
    > It won't warn you of an AirTag someone attached to your car, unless you make it a habit to constantly press "scan" all day. Wouldn't you only need to scan whenever you return to your car?
    - tzs 5y ago
      I may have been too terse. In more detail, if you want to know if someone tagged your car there is no point in running the scanner when you are out of range of your car. You only need to start scanning when you get in range. If you start scanning then and find that there are no tags, you only need to keep scanning if there are people around who might be able to sneak a tag on while you are there without you noticing. Once you get in and start driving you can stop scanning unless your threat model includes people tagging your car in the middle of your trip.
derrasterpunkt 5y ago
There is now an app called „Tracker Detect“ from Apple (for Android) to search for AirTags around you. It hasn’t the ability to use AirTags like on the iPhone but at least you can find one that has been left around you.
- celsoazevedo 5y ago
  That app, which isn't available everywhere (why?), requires users to perform manual scans. It doesn't warn users that they're being tracked like iPhones do.
ChrisMarshallNY 5y ago
> which is the majority of people. Depends on where you live. I live in a fairly affluent area, and everyone has iPhones.
kreeben 5y ago
I've been using AirGuard on my Android. It's FOSS. Available on Play. https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard
- muhehe 5y ago
  Love this. I'm gonna modify this to scan all airtags around and make them play a sound.

tuxone 5y ago

Has anyone got the same kind of alerts with AirPods 3/Pro? This is a recurrent issue while hanging out with SO, friends and family and the only devices that we believe carrying are those AirPods.

oneplane 5y ago
I think so, it depends on the firmware version and if you activated it as a 'thing' I think. I have one pair that does it and my significant other has one that doesn't but it's not being used as actively and not in Find My either.