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Apple's stance on air tags is ridiculous. For one thing, you will only know if someone is criminally tracking you if you are an apple user. Android users have n

• mccorrinall 4y ago
  Take a look at this: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.trackerdetect&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.trac...
  • beart 4y ago
    Some comments suggest this application only works while it is open, and will not passively notify you of trackers in the background. I don't know if that's true, or if it's just due to some phone OS killing the background process to prop up battery metrics.
    • charcircuit 4y ago
      >to prop up battery metrics The primary reason is to increase user privacy from apps constantly logging everything they see while in the background.
• gjs278 4y ago
• samueldr 4y ago
  While it won't provide "at rest" detection, Apple has released an app for Android devices. - https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.trackerdetect https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.trac...
  • commoner 4y ago
    Apple's Tracker Detect app for Android does not automatically scan for AirTags. Users must open the app and manually initiate each scan, then wait at least 10 minutes after detecting an AirTag before causing it to emit a noise. A much better alternative is the free and open source AirGuard app developed by the Technical University of Darmstadt. It automatically scans for AirTags, Tiles, and other Bluetooth tracking devices in the background. When AirGuard detects an AirTag, the user can immediately force the AirTag to emit a sound without having to wait. - AirGuard: https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard
    • wonderbore 4y ago
      > wait at least 10 minutes after detecting an AirTag before causing it to emit a noise Wait, anyone in my building can make an AirTag go off? Can't wait to annoy a few people at 3am /s
    • nullc 4y ago
      Are you aware of any equivalent to AirGuard that can run on a linux host with a Bluetooth adapter rather than a phone?
      • commoner 4y ago
        The closest thing I can find is BlueHydra, which was last updated in August 2019: - BlueHydra: https://github.com/pwnieexpress/blue_hydra https://github.com/pwnieexpress/blue_hydra - Ars Technica article: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/09/hands-on-blue-hydra-can-expose-the-all-too-unhidden-world-of-bluetooth/ https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2016/09/hands...
  • thefz 4y ago
    But why do I have to install another application to defend myself against a foreign corporation's wrong doing? Airtags should be illegal, at least in Europe.
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• Gigachad 4y ago
  The airtag will start making noise if its away from its owner too long and moving around. When you find it you can bring it to a police station and they can use the serial number to get the owners details from Apple. Sure its not bullet proof, but I really don't know they had any better options. Apple is currently by far the best at attempting to stop tracking of all the tracker tile products. An end game solution would be all the OEMs working together one some anti tracking notification spec but that isn't easy to arrange.
  • jfoster 4y ago
    > An end game solution would be all the OEMs working together one some anti tracking notification spec but that isn't easy to arrange Apple could just publish their spec so that Android can also implement it.
    • xenospn 4y ago
      they did - however, the only devices able to seamlessly detect airtags are ios devices.
      • jfoster 4y ago
        What's unique about iOS device hardware that enables them to seamlessly detect AirTags? Pretty much all Android devices have Bluetooth.
        • Gigachad 4y ago
          There are android apps that can detect AirTags. It’s just iOS is the only OS that has this built in and enabled by default.
        • theshrike79 4y ago
          Android manufacturers (Google and Samsung mostly) don't want to support Apple gear by default. There are no technical reasons why they couldn't add all their phones to the Find My network. Only political.
• futuroptimist 4y ago
  I think while bad actors now have another thing for their mental checklist and could easily detect an airtag, there would still be a non-zero number of cases where the airtag helps.
• mehphp 4y ago
  For one, tracking devices aren’t new and none of the others alert you id they are following you.
  • sva_ 4y ago
    I think there is a clear difference between traditional tracking devices and airtags, as the former has always been a lot more shady than the latter, which has more legitimate use-cases.
    • mholm 4y ago
      If I find an airtag among my things, I'm not going to believe there's a benign or legitimate use-case.
• jackvalentine 4y ago
  > So what's the point of it then? I mostly use mine to find my keys or wallet, or be reassured that they're in my office and not lost when I've gone home without them.
  • duxup 4y ago
    Also: I put them all in my bag, also my kids when I travel… and on one occasion an elderly father in law. Worked great.
• duxup 4y ago
  > Secondly if this is true and you stole a bag, all you need to find the air tag would be to hold an iphone close to it for a few minutes. It’s not that simple. I have some AirTags that I keep in my kids school backpacks and they don’t trigger other people’s phones at school. Nobody at my office gets warned about mine… I believe it takes much longer than a few minutes and other factors into consideration.
• JKCalhoun 4y ago
  > Secondly if this is true and you stole a bag, all you need to find the air tag would be to hold an iphone close to it for a few minutes. So what's the point of it then? The point appears to be that someone is going to trial for theft.