Apple & Google Working Together to Combat Airtag Stalking

Airtag, Smart tags are devices used to find the location of lost items like Luggage, keys, purses, or mobile phones.

These location trackers are very handy for people who often lose their valuable items on travel. 

Though this technology has helped numerous people worldwide, they are still being misused by cybercriminal using these trackers for unauthorized tracking or stalking of individuals.

As per reports, Apple and Google have come together to draft a plan for preventing this illegal tracking of individuals.

The draft suggests that these Bluetooth location-tracking devices must be able to show the location of the lost items and be capable of detecting if threat actors are tracking them.

This is a new initiative proposed by both tech giants to prevent attackers from ordinary users who fall prey to them.

Industry manufacturers like Samsung, Tile, Chipolo, eufy Security, and Pebblebee have shown high interest and support towards this draft specification.

The draft specification also shows manufacturers’ best practices and instructions for building their products.

Dave Burke, Google’s Vice President of Engineering for Android, said, “Bluetooth trackers have created tremendous user benefits but also bring the potential of unwanted tracking, which requires industry-wide action to solve. Android has an unwavering commitment to protecting users and will continue to develop strong safeguards and collaborate with the industry to help combat the misuse of Bluetooth tracking devices.”

On the other hand, Ron Huang, Apple’s Vice President of Sensing and Connectivity, said, “Apple launched AirTag to give users the peace of mind of knowing where to find their most important items. We built AirTag and the Find My network with proactive features to discourage unwanted tracking, a first in the industry. We continue to make improvements to help ensure the technology is being used as intended. “This new industry specification builds upon the AirTag protections and, through collaboration with Google, results in a critical step forward to help combat unwanted tracking across iOS and Android.”

Joining the Hands of Apple and Google, the National Network to End Domestic Violence and The Center for Democracy & Technology have supported this initiative.

The draft specification was submitted through the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), as stated by Google.

The plan also invited any Interested parties to show their support or provide a suggestion for this proposal.

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