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IOS Android Cellphones Iphone Privacy

Android Phones Can Now Tell You If There's an AirTag Following You 63

Posted by BeauHD from the every-breath-you-take dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Ars Technica: When Google announced that trackers would be able to tie in to its 3 billion-device Bluetooth tracking network at its Google I/O 2023 conference, it also said that it would make it easier for people to avoid being tracked by trackers they don't know about, like Apple AirTags. Now Android users will soon get these "Unknown Tracker Alerts." Based on the joint specification developed by Google and Apple, and incorporating feedback from tracker-makers like Tile and Chipolo, the alerts currently work only with AirTags, but Google says it will work with tag manufacturers to expand its coverage.

For now, if an AirTag you don't own "is separated from its owner and determined to be traveling with you," a notification will tell you this and that "the owner of the tracker can see its location." Tapping the notification brings up a map tracing back to where it was first seen traveling with you. Google notes that this location data "is always encrypted and never shared with Google." Further into the prompts, you can make the tracker play a sound, "without the owner of the tracker knowing," Google says. If you bring the tracker to the back of your phone (presumably within NFC range), some trackers may provide their serial number and information about their owner, "like the last four digits of their phone number." Google indicates it will also link to information about how to physically disable a tracker. Finally, Google is offering a manual scan feature, if you're suspicious that your Android phone isn't catching a tracker or want to see what's nearby. The alerts are rolling out through a Google Play services update to devices on Android 6.0 and above over the coming weeks. Google is working to finish the joint tracking specification "by the end of this year."

The company added: "At this time, we've made the decision to hold the rollout of the Find My Device network until Apple has implemented protections for iOS."
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Android Phones Can Now Tell You If There's an AirTag Following You More

Android Phones Can Now Tell You If There's an AirTag Following You

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  • So now the AirTag is no longer usable for the purpose of tracking anything that someone wants to take away intentionally (I am not saying "stolen"). All the other person needs to do is perform a scan, and the fact that the item is tracked will be made clear.

    So what is left to track? Things that no one wants and/or have no value (but if so - why would I)?

    • Not only that, the tracker only works through the internet, so if it's a problem, then you can simply not report the location through your phone's internet. The only reason it works is because the phone telling you you're being tracked is reporting the tracker's location.

      • Not only that, the tracker only works through the internet, so if it's a problem, then you can simply not report the location through your phone's internet.

        They don't use _your_ phone's internet. Any iPhone nearby will detect it and quietly report its location. So if someone stills your things, the thief's neighbour's iPhone will happily report it.

    • Re:Not usable (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Can'tNot ( 5553824 ) on Thursday July 27, 2023 @04:23PM (#63719304)
      In principle, the AirTags were supposed to be protection again losing items, not against theft. In practice, they're tools that stalkers could use against anyone who didn't have an iPhone. Now it's against anyone who doesn't have an iPhone or an Android phone.

      They still shouldn't be allowed to exist. There isn't supposed to be a white list for privacy.

      • Re:Not usable (Score:5, Insightful)

        by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Thursday July 27, 2023 @04:42PM (#63719350) Homepage Journal

        Apple should have agreed this standard before releasing them, and waited for Google to add support to Android. Like Google is doing now, waiting to roll out its own compatible tags.

        I'm actually kinda annoyed that I won't be able to get Google compatible tags sooner. I expect Apple won't be in any hurry to open the market up to more competition. I was hoping to track my luggage later this year.

        • I'm actually kinda annoyed that I won't be able to get Google compatible tags sooner. I expect Apple won't be in any hurry to open the market up to more competition. I was hoping to track my luggage later this year.

          You can already somewhat narrow down the location of your luggage with existing tools.

          1) Write down all the end points your current airline flies to that start at your home airport.
          2) Find your intended destination.
          3) Cross it off the list.
          4) What remains is the possible locations of your luggage.

      • In principle, the AirTags were supposed to be protection again losing items, not against theft. In practice, they're tools that stalkers could use against anyone who didn't have an iPhone. Now it's against anyone who doesn't have an iPhone or an Android phone.

        They still shouldn't be allowed to exist. There isn't supposed to be a white list for privacy.

        Yet police departments all over the U.S. are now recommending that car owners hide an AirTag in their cars to combat auto theft. In fact, 500 AirTags were do

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by mjwx ( 966435 )

        In principle, the AirTags were supposed to be protection again losing items, not against theft. In practice, they're tools that stalkers could use against anyone who didn't have an iPhone. Now it's against anyone who doesn't have an iPhone or an Android phone.

        They still shouldn't be allowed to exist. There isn't supposed to be a white list for privacy.

        The problem is that they're always on or transceivers. By definition they're insecure. usually things like this are used for things like warning beacons, navigation aids, things that are meant to be public rather than secure private use.

        The other problem is that they're using other peoples devices to do the tracking, this can have quite startling implications as I'm certain such a protocol could be reverse to track who moves where using a series of tags (thinking less of a bad government and more like a

        • I'm certain such a protocol could be reverse to track who moves where using a series of tags

          I challenge that assumption. Can you describe how you'd track someone using the fact that their iPhone is reporting tag locations to the Apple Find My network? Maybe it could be done if Apple did something idiotic like share the unique identifier of the device that pinged your AirTag, but surely you can design a _protocol_ that prevents the reverse engineering you describe.

          The only way I can think to do it is if you could create a fake AirTag beacon that only responds to the Bluetooth pings of the devic

      • In principle, the AirTags were supposed to be protection again losing items, not against theft. In practice, they're tools that stalkers could use against anyone who didn't have an iPhone. Now it's against anyone who doesn't have an iPhone or an Android phone.

        They still shouldn't be allowed to exist. There isn't supposed to be a white list for privacy.

        I've been looking for an open way to track airtags for while now. In theory we should be able to see them with a cheap software-defined radio, but I've had trouble finding examples of anyone actually doing this. Does anybody out there have more info?

        • I don't specifically, but I do recall a story about cell phones [wired.com]. There's probably already a commercial solution that you could use, which you would only have to adapt slightly for airtags. Not a cheap option though.

          • Interesting article, thanks for sharing. It's interesting to see that back in 2011, malls wanted the equivalent of cookies to track shoppers. Today, of course, they DO use cookies, and more besides. This is why malls give away "free" wifi. It allows them to see exactly where you and your smartphone are going in their mall, how much time you spend there etc.

            Back to tracking airtags though, it should be easy to see an airtag's regular ping over BLE on a cheap SDR. Then log these to see if the same device is f

            • Oh, if you just want to see when an airtag is following you then there's an open source android application for that. Here [f-droid.org]. Maybe you can work out how it's done from there.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

      They are useful for tracking your luggage. Airline says they don't know where it is, but your trackers tells you it's in a big warehouse at some airport.

      But yes, the days of being able to use AirTags to stalk people are thankfully coming to and end. In fact anyone could already scan for AirTags with a free app anyway, it's just that most criminals didn't think to.

      • They are useful for tracking your luggage. Airline says they don't know where it is, but your trackers tells you it's in a big warehouse at some airport.

        No it doesn't.

        It might tell you that if employees with airtag-enabled enabled phones are continually walking past it within RFID range.

        • Re: (Score:3)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          AirTags don't use RFID, they use Bluetooth transmissions. The phone that detects them reports its location to Apple, so you generally know where it is to within a few metres.

    • Re:Not usable (Score:4, Funny)

      by fahrbot-bot ( 874524 ) on Thursday July 27, 2023 @05:00PM (#63719404)

      So now the AirTag is no longer usable for the purpose of tracking anything that someone wants to take away intentionally (I am not saying "stolen").

      Ya, but will this work for elections?

      (Asking for a candidate in FL.)

    • So now the AirTag is no longer usable for the purpose of tracking anything that someone wants to take away intentionally (I am not saying "stolen").

      I've never heard Apple or Tile or anyone else say their devices were intended for tracking down stolen items... just for stuff that's been lost or misplaced. None of these anti-stalking enhancements being implemented by Apple or Google affect the intended use of these products in the slightest.

      • I've never heard Apple or Tile or anyone else say their devices were intended for tracking down stolen items... just for stuff that's been lost or misplaced.

        Here in the real world: If you "lose or misplace" something the chances of an honest citizen taking the trouble to take it a police station are very slim. More likely they'll take it home and keep it, or take it home and trash it if it's not worth anything.

        (which under law is the same as "theft")

    • Re:Not usable (Score:4, Interesting)

      by grasshoppa ( 657393 ) on Thursday July 27, 2023 @05:14PM (#63719488) Homepage

      Air tags are great for pet tracking; my dog has one on her collar. If she gets out and takes herself for a walk, I can track her down.

      • I use a "tracktive" one, and while it has its fault (The $5ish month subscription fee, and having to put it on a charger each night), it means I've been able to keep an eye on where my pesky cat gets to so I dont have to just leave doors open if he decides he doesnt wanna come home for dinner.

        Poor cat is constantly astonished at my ability to walk half way across town, reach into a bush and pull him out lol. Yeah I know kitty, its human magic. GPS!

    • I put two on my scooter hidden in different places since it gets stolen often here in Seattle. Each time, they find both of them. Tim Cook sucks. Iâ(TM)ve lost more in busted AirTags than from damage from theft. They really are less than useless.

    • A thief can already check if an item they're stealing has an AirTag on it with a Bluetooth scanner app. This simply notifies people they might be being tracked when they wouldn't have thought to check themselves.

  • Field day (Score:4, Insightful)

    by LondoMollari ( 172563 ) on Thursday July 27, 2023 @04:36PM (#63719334) Homepage

    Now when thieves steal something, there is now a higher chance they will go looking for an Air Tag and remove it.

    • Air tags aren't meant to be an anti-theft device to begin with. They are explicitly not for that task, as a perfect anti-theft tracker is also a perfect stalking tracker.

      • Nobody's figured out exactly what they're for, yet, but I'm betting most people bought them as anti-theft trackers.

        (because "losing" something in this world usually has the exact same result as somebody stealing it from you)

  • There are many other options out there for tiny GPS trackers that are FAR superior to AirTags,Tile, etc, that use 4G / 5G cellular to directly report their position without having to rely on nearby iPhones. Further, they are much more accurate as they determine their own GPS position instead of merely being "nearby", which is how AirTags work sending out beacon pings that iPhones in proximity pick up.

    The downside is that these trackers require some minimal cellular data service, thus there is a recurring co

    • Re:Other options (Score:4, Interesting)

      by AmiMoJo ( 196126 ) on Thursday July 27, 2023 @04:40PM (#63719346) Homepage Journal

      The massive downside to GPS trackers is battery life. A Bluetooth tracker can run for a year on a coin cell. To get a year from a GPS tracker, it would have to be a lot bulkier.

      Another issue with GPS trackers is loss of signal in buildings or in the bodies of machines like cars. Because Bluetooth trackers transmit a much stronger signal, and the receivers (phones) can be inside the building/car too, they are more reliable.

      There are actually battery-free tracking tags that reflect back energy transmitted at them. They get some use in commercial settings for asset management. I could do with some at home but they aren't available to consumers as far as I can tell.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by PPH ( 736903 )

        There are actually battery-free tracking tags that reflect back energy transmitted at them. They get some use in commercial settings for asset management.

        RFID tags.

        I could do with some at home but they aren't available to consumers as far as I can tell.

        There are development kits available.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          These aren't RFID tags, they work at considerable distance. You can stand in a warehouse with a transceiver and locate items from 10m away or more.

      • The massive downside to GPS trackers is battery life. A Bluetooth tracker can run for a year on a coin cell. To get a year from a GPS tracker, it would have to be a lot bulkier.

        A bluetooth tracker needs to have something scanning for it and relaying GPS information. Not easy to achieve.

        A GPS tracker can run for many years if it doesn't have to relay real-time info, eg. If it can wake up every ten minutes to transmit its location.

        You could also get fancy and put in a SMS module and SIM card and only transmit the GPS location when you send it an SMS. That way it will be undetectable by anybody scanning for trackers.

        The only limit is your budget and size requirements.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by AmiMoJo ( 196126 )

          All iPhones, and soon most Android phones, will be scanning for these Bluetooth trackers and reporting their location back to Apple/Google. If you lose yours, other people's phones will locate it and you can get that data from Apple/Google.

          Bluetooth trackers can operate for a year or more on a coin cell, and are relatively cheap.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by EvilSS ( 557649 )
      In what way does this make it less affordable to track lost items, which is what the AirTag was made for in the first place?
  • > Google notes that this location data "is always encrypted and never shared with Google." Oh...well...thank God for that. I mean...it's not like the Pixel phone I'm carrying with me reports my location to Google through the search app, the Google Home app, the Nest app, the GMail app, the Find My Phone app, and probably various components in the core OS. Then there's the cell phone company location tracking/selling, and the multitude of other apps that all require location permission to do various th
    • All these things go to Google, not to someone stalking you. A stalker, who is after _you_ personally, is much more of a danger to you than Google. Google won't be waiting to drag you into some dark alley.

      • All these things go to Google, not to someone stalking you. A stalker, who is after _you_ personally, is much more of a danger to you than Google. Google won't be waiting to drag you into some dark alley.

        Yeah, but TFS specifically pointed out that the data is "encrypted and never shared with Google"...as if everything else on the damn phone wasn't sending data to Google...

        A stalker is easy to deal with. Arm yourself, learn self-defense, call the cops, etc...
        An abusive monopoly or a rogue government is much more difficult to deal with.

    • "is always encrypted and never shared with Google." Never shared, yeah. And then I get an email with the text "let's remember where you've been this month"

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