Privacy

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A place to discuss privacy and freedom in the digital world.

Privacy has become a very important issue in modern society, with companies and governments constantly abusing their power, more and more people are waking up to the importance of digital privacy.

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Are You Being Tracked by an AirTag? Here’s How to Check (www.wired.com)

submitted 1 week ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

24 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Archive link: https://ghostarchive.org/archive/hWxVX

Owners of newer iPhones should turn on Bluetooth and check their settings to ensure they’ll receive notifications. Under Settings, go to Privacy & Security, and toggle Location Services on. Scroll to the bottom of that page, tap on System Services, and activate Find My iPhone. Also, search for the Find My app, visit Me in the bottom right corner, then tap Customize Tracking Notifications to double-check that notifications are enabled. Also, make sure that you don’t have Airplane mode activated, or you won’t receive any notifications.

When you click on the iPhone alert for an unrecognized AirTag, you may be given the option to play a sound on the AirTag to help locate it. If you own a more recent smartphone from Apple, you might be able to use precision location data to find the hidden device.

Months after the release of the AirTag, Apple launched the Tracker Detect app for Android phones, where users had to initiate the scan. Google and Apple since have continued working together to make it easier for Android phones to detect unwanted AirTag trackers and for Apple phones to spot Android trackers. Recently, Google rolled out automatic smartphone alerts for unknown Bluetooth trackers, similar to what iPhone owners receive for AirTags.

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[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Stupid question: Why does location services have to be on for findmy to be able show me my airtag’s location? So it can show it in relation to me? Still, I’m home, bluetooth is on, wifi is on, why can’t it show it to me?

[–] [email protected] 12 points 1 week ago (2 children)

Probably because the airtags don't use GPS them selves, they are detected by a nearby phone and their location is interpreted from the phone's location.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 1 week ago

It's likely to be forced participation.

You want to use airtags and benefit from other phones providing tag locations? Then you have to supply data to the airtag network as well. Quid pro quo and all that.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 week ago

but that wouldn’t have to me my iPhone?