Spy airtags: how to protect yourself from stalkers who use them?

Airtags, these tracking devices developed by Apple, have been designed to attach to a PC, a smartphone or a key ring, in order to track your most precious possessions. But since their release in 2021, certain testimonies tend to prove perverse excesses in the use of these small devices.

THE PARISIANS

be MEGA careful with the airtags, they put one on me in the 16th a few days ago, and there it is my friend who has just found one on her on her way home from the SPORTS ROOM, they start again in ball with Be super careful the dogs are out pic.twitter.com/abmpKcnuxH

— Wen 🍎 (@_wenartica) June 12, 2023

It is thanks to Bluetooth that Airtags make it possible to track any object that is equipped with it. From the Locate application on a smartphone, a simple button allows you to very precisely locate the location of the small device. A method used by some predators. Everyone who noticed they were being tracked received a notification on their iPhone telling them that an Airtag is tracking their location.

How do we know if we are being followed?

Because yes, Apple has provided for this scenario. If the device is not connected to its master iPhone for eight hours, then it will beep for fifteen seconds to indicate its location. In addition, but only for devices running iOS 14.5 and iPadOS 14.5, a notification is then sent to the owner of the nearest smartphone.

If you’re on Android, you have fewer tools to prevent Airtag tracking. An app, Tracker Detection, is needed to identify a nearby device. Problem, the process is not automatic, the user must therefore initiate a check himself.

What to do in this situation?

If you discover that an Airtag is stalking you, there are certain steps you should take. The Twitter feed of a gendarme, a doctoral student in private law and criminal science, details the elements to follow. He advises not to touch the device and immediately go to the nearest police station or gendarmerie to file a complaint.

If you discover one placed on you, do not throw it away, do not remove the battery.

If you are at home, get out quickly and file a complaint.

The offense is that of 226-1 of the Penal Code.
It is possible to trace back to the owner. pic.twitter.com/jkQCAXjqJj

— Matthew Audibert (@MattAudibert) June 13, 2023

Know that it is possible, under certain conditions, to identify the person behind the stalking. Apple details in a procedural note all the elements to know, and to follow, to be able to go back to the owner’s profile.

On the manufacturer side, we take the risk seriously. Thus, Apple, Google and a group of manufacturers have initiated the launch of a standardization of Bluetooth beacons. This should make it possible to simplify the alert systems for people being tracked.