Letting you know if any unfamiliar tags are following you
The release of AirTags last year popularized Bluetooth trackers, but while Apple isn’t the first company to release such a product, its ability to leverage its vast Find My network gives it a considerable edge over competitors. AirTags are able to communicate with nearby iPhones to report their location back to their owners, creating a gigantic network that makes them surprisingly accurate, especially in countries where Apple has a big user base. Android doesn’t yet have system-level tracker support, but some new evidence suggests we might at least get barebones native scanning functionality soon.
The latest Google Play Services (22.12.13) update includes a few new strings uncovered by the team at 9to5Google that reference work towards this goal, including mention of “unfamiliar device alerts” (for detecting unknown tags that are following you). Once finalized, this feature might show up in Google’s Safety & emergency panel in Settings.
Image credits: 9to5Google
The app also makes reference to three different types of tags: “ATag” (presumably short for AirTag), “Tile tag,” and “Finder tag.”
This specific feature, once it’s out, would work as a scanner, like an app recently released by Apple on Android to scan for nearby AirTags — it will notify you if it detects any unknown and potentially dangerous tags nearby, so you can be aware and discard/disable them. We’re hoping, however, that Google is planning to introduce broader tag functionality on Android, and that this is just a part of that. Support for tags on Android is all over the place right now — Samsung SmartTags currently need the SmartThings app to be tracked, and Tile devices need the Tile app. You can only do so much without system-level support, which AirTags are lucky enough to enjoy. This might only be a scanner, but it’s still a step in the right direction.
We might just start hearing more about this feature as we head into Google I/O 2022, which is set to be held on May 11-12th.
UPDATE: 2022/04/08 16:27 EST BY AROL WRIGHT
New screenshots have surfaced
Mishaal Rahman has posted new screenshots on how the feature will look like on his Twitter, showing us a bit more about how this new “Unfamiliar device alerts” feature will be all about.
The text at the bottom says that it will check for nearby Bluetooth devices, and will notify you when it detects devices that are moving with you, like a rogue AirTag someone is using to stalk you.
It’s a great first step towards tracker detection on Android, and this one in particular will be immensely useful to crack down on stalkers using tracker tags to keep tabs on victims. We hope that it’s followed by proper Android tag compatibility, though.
The article above was updated to reflect more accurate info on this specific feature.
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