Apple AirTags and similar Bluetooth-powered tracking devices have become a norm in today’s life. However, the technology is riddled with unwanted and unauthorized tracking of individuals.
Apple AirTags was developed so that users can find their luggage, keys, purse, and whatnot using Apple AirTags and Find My network. However, it has been misused to track individuals which isn’t just a privacy but a security concern. Today, both Apple and Google have joined forces submitting first-of-its-kind proposed industry specifications that put an end to such misused of Bluetooth-paired trackers.
The industry specification proposed by Apple and Google and supported by the ikes of Samsung, eufy Security, Tile, Pebblebee, and Chipolo, will follow industry specifications to end unwanted tracking using AirTags and Find My network among others.
The AirTags are already powered by security features to overcome unauthorized tracking, however, people usually find a way to bypass it. The proposed specification takes it a few steps ahead allowing both Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS to work in collaboration to end such ill activities.
The specifications are based on inputs from device manufacturers keeping safety as the focal point. Dubbed the National Network to End Domestic Violence (NNEDV) takes certain steps to minimize the instances of how this technology is abused.
Drafted via the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), interested parties can appear to review the specifications and comment on changes over the next three months. Once the period ends, both Google and Apple will implement production-ready changes to ward off unwanted tracking alerts by the end of this year. The software changes on both iOS and Android are likely to be available in future iterations as well.
