AirTags and stalking go hand in hand, but that’s how you protect yourself

AirTags were created to keep an eye on your valuables. In practice, however, that is not the only purpose for which they are used. Apple trackers are popular among stalkers. It is therefore a serious problem, which you can fortunately arm yourself against.

There have been several reports of stalking practices using an AirTag. For example, two women were tracked by their exes using AirTags. The tracker was placed in the wheel of one of the women’s car, allowing the ex-boyfriend to monitor her location. You can do this to protect yourself.

Protect yourself from stalking with AirTags

Apple and Google recently started a collaboration to combat stalking using AirTags. As a result, both iPhone users and Android users will soon receive a notification on their smartphone if they may be followed by a tracker.

Other companies behind Bluetooth trackers, such as Samsung and Tile, are also contributing to this new standard that should prevent stalking by means of these trackers. It should therefore not matter which brand of smartphone you have and which Bluetooth tracker it concerns in order to be better protected.

Apple currently already has a built-in system. This system can notify you if there is an AirTag nearby for a longer period of time that is not linked to your iPhone. AirTags can even play a sound so you know where the tracker is hidden. This works automatically through the Find My system.

While it is also possible to discover AirTags with an Android phone, it doesn’t work as well as on an iPhone. Android users have to download Apple’s Tracker Detect app as an extra step. Only then can they scan or trace Apple’s trackers. So that needs to change in the future.

5 features that show the power of Apple’s AirTag excellently