Phones running iOS 17.5 and Android 6.0+ will automatically display ‚unknown tracker alerts‘ if they spot an AirTag or other supported Bluetooth tracker separated from its owner nearby.
UPDATE 5/13/24: Apple is extending unwanted tracking alerts beyond AirTags to other Bluetooth trackers with today’s iOS 17.5 update.
„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,“ according to Apple, which says that „Bluetooth tag manufacturers including Chipolo, eufy, Jio, Motorola, and Pebblebee have committed that future tags will be compatible.“
If you get an alert on the iPhone, you can view the tracker’s identifier, have the tracker play a sound to help locate it, and access instructions to disable it.
Android users need to be running Android 6.0 or above to get the alerts.
Original Story 7/27/23:
Google is now rolling out an AirTag-detection system for Android.
Initially announced at Google I/O in May, these „Unknown tracker alerts“ are arriving on phones running Android 6.
