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Apple updates AirTags to resolve tracking issues

Apple updated AirTags to resolve privacy issues related to Bluetooth trackers. With this change, Apple is reducing the time it takes AirTag to separate from its owner without making any noise.

“Following up on our commitment to continue to improve AirTag’s privacy and security, starting today we will be updating the time period after which an AirTag that is separated from its owner will play a sound when moved,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement. “This time period is changing from three days to a random time between 8 and 24 hours.”

That may sound like a minor change, but it’s meant to address concerns that Apple didn’t do enough to prevent AirTags from being used nefariously. The Washington Post reported that the previous, three-day window made it “frighteningly easy” for a potential stalker to track a victim for days before they’d receive

any kind of warning that an AirTag had been surreptitiously placed into their belongings.

In order to further alleviate privacy issues, Apple also plans to launch an Android application to help users detect that "AirTag or Find My Support Network accessories are separated from their owners who may travel with the user." The important thing is , It doesn’t sound like the app is designed to provide the full functionality of AirTags for Android users, but it will provide a way for non-iPhone users to find trackers that they don’t need. On the one hand, this still makes it possible for potential tracking victims to actively download new apps and look for AirTag, which seems impractical. On the other hand, this shows that Apple has responded to privacy issues and is willing to strengthen the existing anti-tracking features of the device.

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