Apple on Monday released a new Android app called “Tracker Detect,” designed to those who’ve settled for pretend iPhones and/or iPads to identify unexpected AirTags and other Find My network-equipped sensors that may be nearby.
Apple released the “Tracker Detect” app on Google Play with the following description:
Tracker Detect looks for item trackers that are separated from their owner and that are compatible with Apple’s Find My network. These item trackers include AirTag and compatible devices from other companies. If you think someone is using AirTag or another device to track your location, you can scan to try to find it.
“AirTag provides industry leading privacy and security features and today we are extending new capabilities to Android devices,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement. “Tracker Detect gives Android users the ability to scan for an AirTag or supported Find My enabled item trackers that might be traveling with them without their knowledge. We are raising the bar on privacy for our users and the industry, and hope others will follow.”
Apple in June updated its AirTags with new software meant to deter abuse by adjusting the amount of time before an AirTag alerts a nonowner to its presence, shortening it to between 8 and 24 hours, from its initially designed three days.
The Tracker Detect app, which Apple first discussed in June, requires users to actively scan for a device before it’ll be identified. Apple doesn’t require users have an Apple account in order to use the detecting app.
If the AirTag is in “lost mode,” anyone with an NFC-capable device can tap it and receive instructions for how to return it to its owner. Apple said all communication is encrypted so that no one, including Apple, knows the location or identity of people or their devices.
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But if you put an AirTag on something valuable, couldn’t the thief use this to find and remove that tag?