Apple‘s AirTag has been in the spotlight in recent weeks due to the various illegal uses and activity that has come to be connected with the device. It has been put to sinister uses by criminal minds even with the updated User Guide put forward by Apple to help safeguard users of the AirTag. Apple has now gone further by announcing a series of changes aimed at frontally attacking the misuse of the AirTags, with the rollout of these changes to spread throughout 2022.
The Apple AirTags was released last year with greater functionality and reach than some of the existing Bluetooth-based tracking tags. The AirTags, when combined with the companion app Find My provided a connected ecosystem of iPhone users to help track the device. This has meant that AirTags are increasingly used by criminal minds for stalking, theft, and other forms of criminality. In a statement, Apple said that it had become aware that individuals can receive unwanted tracking alerts for a raft of benign reasons while it has also seen reports of bad actors attempting criminal and malicious misuse of the device.
Apple said it will be providing greater security for AirTags users and provide safety warnings to help guard against further unwanted tracking. The upcoming software update for the AirTags will kickstart the new changes aimed at improving user safety while using the AirTag. The setup will include a warning that the device is only intended to be used with the user’s own belongings, and that law enforcement agencies can request identifying information about the owner of an AirTag. The new safety architecture also includes improvements to the Unknown Accessory Detected alert will now appear for AirTags. This will display the name of the device in the updated version. There are several other updates lined up, and Apple assures that these will further safeguard users from being stalked or prone to the several misuses of the device.
Even with these elaborate plans, there are still fears that smart alecs will continue to navigate around such roadblocks, as observed a few days back when it was reported that AirTags with disabled speakers were on sale on Etsy and eBay. The question also remains how non-Apple AirTags users or the general population can be safeguarded from being tracked.
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