Since its debut in April of last year, Apple's AirTag accessory device was met with a myriad of concerns, the main among them being security flaws allowing unwanted tracking via stalkers. On Thursday, Feb. 10, the company finally addressed these complaints in a new rollout of updates for AirTags, which will be enhanced through various privacy warnings, AirPod alerts, and updated support across the entire Apple ecosystem to ensure safety is kept at the forefront of the product.
Apple is working alongside law enforcement to ensure the update's rollout is maintained with immense scrutiny and significance. Upon setting up an AirTag, newer users will be notified of its linkage with said user's Apple ID and warn that utilizing the AirTag device to track people is a felony. A specific dialogue will be displayed to the user, which will detail all the necessary information as follows:
"AirTag is Linked to Your Apple ID. AirTag is intended solely to track items that belong to you. Using AirTag to track people without their consent is a crime in many regions around the world. AirTag is designed to be detected by victims and to enable law enforcement to request identifying information about the owner."
This is the first of many ways Apple is ensuring consumers, both old and new, that its products will not be utilized in any nefarious way and that privacy still remains at the forefront of its ideals. Two secondary updates for Airtags come in the form of supporting documents, which will be located on Apple's own site under "unwanted tracking support," wherein readers will find valuable information on how to assess when a user might be experiencing stalking.
The aforementioned support page will likewise showcase newer visuals on Apple's expectations in terms of specific alerts and protocols. Readers will notice Apple included even how to disable the Find My network capabilities for specific products, including AirPods and AirTag tracking. Apple added links to both the National Center for Victims of Crime and the National Network to End Domestic Violence in that same article to assist in any capacity necessary where it missed the mark previously.
Of most interest to Apple users and the wide array of its products' ecosystem is the updated "Unknown Accessory Detected" procedure that had many in a frenzy of concern. Apple highlights that any "Unknown Accessory Detected" alert witnessed has nothing to do with nearby AirTags, as it should only pertain to connectivity for certain products, mainly AirPods, specifically the third generation, AirPods Pro, Max, and additional third-party Find My network accessories.
Due to the concern, Apple is ensuring its users with an additional update that will alert them of AirPods being on a user's personality as opposed to simply "Unknown Accessory," which should put worries to rest for the time being.
In a future update to come later this year, Apple will be adding a host of upgrades to the AirTag system. For starters, the company will be utilizing "Precision Finding," which will allow users who are being tracked to flag the unknown AirTag location via their iPhone 11, 12, and 13s. The software is incredibly sophisticated, melding the iPhone's ARKit, gyroscope, camera, and accelerometer to deliver literal, precise location of the AirTag.
Other additional considerations for upgrades include AirTag alerts, which will make the device produce a sound and show an actionable alert on the user's phone as well, and logic parameters for the alert system itself. The latter will include a sophisticated way for Apple to denote when best to alert a user they are being tracked without their consent and how best to go about giving that user the information.
Apple will likewise be adjusting the literal sound an AirTag makes so as to fuel better resources for users in areas of protection, privacy, and awareness. Apple anticipates making the sound louder so users can find an unwanted AirTag much easier than it currently stands.
In its press release, Apple doesn't specify when exactly users can expect to see these new updates, but the rollout will most likely be in short order as newer editions will likewise already see said changes before hitting shelves.
