Apple is adding new privacy warnings, audible alerts and tracking codes to its AirTags sensors, the latest in a series of efforts to improve the security and privacy of devices and its Find My network.
The software update will display new warnings to people who set up AirTags, reminding them that using the technology to track people without their consent is a crime in many parts of the world. It also noted that Apple built AirTags so that law enforcement could request identifying information about the owner.
“We design our products to provide a great experience while also keeping security and privacy in mind,” Apple said in a statement announcing the changes. “We are committed to listening to feedback and innovating to make improvements that continue to prevent unnecessary tracking.”
Apple‘s tweaks to its AirTags and Find My technology mark its latest attempt to strengthen device privacy and security. Apple is positioning the half-dollar-sized device as an easy way to find lost keys, school bags and other items using Apple’s Find My web technology. Apple also touted the security of AirTags, saying each device uses frequently-changing identification codes and encrypted communications to deter hackers and accidental tracking.
However, privacy and victim rights advocates are concerned that AirTags could and are being abused despite Apple’s best efforts. Critics point out that because Apple’s Find My network has more than 1 billion active iPhones and other devices that quietly share the location of any AirTags or other Find My devices nearby, it may have more coverage than any other device tracking service. be big.
Apple updated its AirTags with new software designed to deter abuse by changing the amount of time the AirTags alert non-owners of their existence. Apple has cut that time from the originally designed three days to between 8 and 24 hours. In December, the company took it a step further, releasing a free Tracker Detect app for Android phones that allows people to actively scan for nearby Find My devices that have been separated from their owners for at least 10 minutes.
With an upcoming software update, Apple says it will also be easier to find unwanted AirTags using its Pinpoint Find technology, which displays a compass-like arrow on your phone’s screen when you search for a device. More “loudest tones” will make devices easier to spot.
The company also addressed the “unknown attachment” warning that sometimes appeared on people’s phones. Apple said it found that AirPods were sometimes responsible for those warnings and would now identify themselves as AirPods rather than an “unknown accessory” to help better identify what might be nearby.
To help people learn more about the privacy of AirTags, both on their own and when they discover unwanted AirTags, Apple has updated its online support documentation to help people control location settings on their phones and understand what they may receive Different types of alerts from AirTag or other Find My Device.
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