Apple releases Tracker Detect app to protect Android users from stalkers

Apple has released a new Android app that is designed to help people who are not using iPhones or iPads to determine if an AirTag or a compatible tracker is near their location. According to Apple, its Tracker Detect app looks for item trackers within Bluetooth range that are separated from their owner and that are compatible with Apple’s Find My network. Android users can scan to find if someone is using an AirTag or another item tracker to track your location. Apple says that if the Tracker Detect app detects an AirTag or compatible item tracker near a user for at least 10 minutes, they can play a sound to help locate it. However, it may take up to 15 minutes for the tracker to show up in the app after it is separated from its owner.

Within the app, Apple gives users the option to know more about the tracker including its serial number. This information can then be used to help locate the owner of the tracker and return the device in case it is lost. Additionally, the app also provides users with step-by-step instructions to disable the tracker if they feel that the tracker is being used to track their location. Apple also urges users to contact law enforcement services and provide them with the tracker’s serial number if they feel that their security is being threatened.

It is worth noting that Apple’s Tracker Detect app doesn’t help users keep track of the AirTags attached to an Apple account. This means that the app will not help Android users use Apple’s AirTags. Additionally, the app doesn’t require the Android user to have an Apple account to use it. This widens the scope of its use by enabling virtually anyone to download and use it if they feel threatened.

Apple’s Tracker Detect app is another attempt by the company to bolster security of people amid concerns that the AirTags that was launched last year could be used as a means to stalk people. Following the concerns, Apple had rolled out an update to its AirTags that made the trackers beep at a time between eight to 24 hours if they had been away from their owners’ iPhones. At the same time, the company had promised to introduce an Android app to help users detect an AirTag or a Find My Network-enabled accessory if it had been away from its owner and travelling with them.

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