AirTag stalking considerations have Apple and Google teaming up — how they plan to repair it

May 3, 2023

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The Apple AirTag wasn’t the primary monitoring tag available on the market by a longshot, however as is usually the case with Apple merchandise, it introduced a whole lot of new consideration to the idea.

Sadly, it wasn’t all the time simply individuals hoping to keep away from dropping their laptop computer bag or baggage, as like different such trackers, they have been ripe for misuse for home abuse and stalking. Apple labored to fight the AirTag stalking downside with quite a lot of iOS updates, however even with that, Android customers and the myriad different monitoring tags aren’t lined by these protections.

So at the moment noticed a joint announcement (opens in new tab) from Apple and Google proposing a brand new trade commonplace to make sure that potential victims of undesirable trackers are notified of the menace whether or not they use an iPhone or an Android telephone (by way of CNBC).

Coming by the tip of 2023

Particulars are fairly sparse for the time being with the 2 corporations committing to finishing the function by the tip of 2023 and implementing it “in future variations of iOS and Android.”

The draft proposal has the assist of the foremost gamers within the monitoring tag area together with Samsung, Tile, Chipolo, eufy Safety, and Pebblebee. Apple and Google acquired suggestions from these corporations, in addition to security and advocacy teams, to make sure that all potential considerations are addressed as totally and successfully as attainable.

The Nationwide Community to Finish Home Violence praised the announcement saying that “This collaboration and the ensuing requirements are a major step ahead.” The sentiment was shared by the Middle for Democracy & Expertise’s president and CEO Alexandra Reeve Givens known as it “a welcome step to confront dangerous misuses of Bluetooth location trackers.”

The specification will now go by way of the Web Engineering Process Pressure, a requirements improvement group, and can draw evaluation and remark for 3 months earlier than continuing additional. The hope could be that we see it roll out in Android and iOS updates in early 2024.