Apple wants to make life harder for people who try to use its AirTags to track other people without permission. The giant announced that it is gradually releasing a new feature that allows its object tracking devices to issue a more intense alarm when away from their owner for a long period of time.
The Apple gadget, which sells for about $ 40 each, is programmed to emit a shrill and random sound when away from its owner for more than 8 hours, a timeframe to be reviewed in the future. decline over the year, according to what Apple announced in February.
The tool is intended to prevent misplacement of goods such as a bunch of keys or a wallet, which can be tracked using Bluetooth technology and the Locate application (Find My).
But many voices are being raised about the danger that AirTags, which are as big as two dollar coins, are being used by malicious people to track people.
Vice’s special site Motherboard also obtained a document from U.S. police in early April detailing the number of complaints associated with this geolocation chip. According to the report, 50 women heard an alarm or received an alert on their smart phones notifying them of the prolonged presence and proximity of an AirTag that they did not own.
measures against harassment
This last feature is part of the anti-harassment measures Apple has implemented since launching its AirTags in April 2021. Available by default in the Locate application on the iPhone, it can also be activated from December on a smartphone running using the Android operating system, thanks to the giant Apple’s Tracker Detect application.
Other measures announced include adding a warning when activating an AirTag reminding that tracking people using the device is a crime.
There will also be newer iPhone models later this year a function that allows them to geolocate a hidden AirTag.
Deployment of the new alarm will be done automatically on the gadget when it connects to the Bluetooth of the smartphone (with a minimum version of iOS 14.5) of its owner. All AirTags should have received the update by May 13th.
Source: Radio-Canada
