Apple and Google reach a FindMy deal

As anticipated, Apple and Google have announced support for unwanted tracking alerts in iOS and Android, and have built an industry specification to enable this.

Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers

The specification, Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers, makes it possible to alert users across both iOS and Android if such a Bluetooth location tracker is unknowingly being used to track them. The standard should help mitigate the misuse of such devices.

With this new capability, users will now get an “[Item] Found Moving With You” alert on their device if an unknown Bluetooth tracking device is seen moving with them over time, regardless of the platform the device is paired with.

How this works

If a user gets such an alert on their iOS device, it means that someone else’s AirTag, Find My accessory, or other industry specification-compatible Bluetooth tracker is moving with them.
It’s possible the tracker is attached to an item the user is borrowing.
Otherwise the user can view the tracker’s identifier, have the tracker play a sound to help locate it, and access instructions to disable it.

Bluetooth tag manufacturers including Chipolo, eufy, Jio, Motorola, and Pebblebee have committed that future tags will be compatible.

When is it coming?

Apple is implementing this capability in iOS 17.5, and Google is now launching this capability on Android 6.0+ devices.

Apple and Google will continue to work with the Internet Engineering Task Force via the Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers working group to develop the official standard for this technology.

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