cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/795697
Archived version: https://archive.ph/55yyZ
Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20230728012552/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2023/07/android-phones-can-now-tell-you-if-theres-an-airtag-following-you/
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I know a few people that hide them in their bike frames. Will it tell bike thieves that the tag hidden in the stolen bike is following them?
They’re not anti theft devices. Never were. They are anti losing my shit devices.
Slap one on your keys, wallet, etc, and when you lose them, you can track them to see where they ended up falling out of your pocket.
If you want a tracking device, pay for one. They’ll use a SIM card, be undetectable, and track perfectly without needing a network of phones.
I would assume so. It’s a difficult thing, because I’m really not okay with people covertly tracking others with airtags without their consent, but the it can of course also be used to track stolen items or so.
Feels like a tragedy of the commons sorta thing. Most people would use air tags responsibly, but a small number of people abuse them and thus kinda ruin them for everyone. We can’t have nice things because people suck.
Yeah, they aren’t really useful for anti theft, but that’s the compromise you have to make for safety
I think the solution to this problem is embedding the tag into the frame in such a way that removing it would be destructive or at least highly impractical. That’s my plan at least. Waiting for my Chipolo trackers to arrive.
How would you do that, and what’ll you do when it runs out of battery?
Embedding it also reduces range by a lot. Gplama did a test
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I haven’t done any designs yet. I’m thinking about the steerer tube. It’s carbon so it shouldn’t impede the RF. Another option is somewhere within the saddle. Or maybe inside a reflector, on the wheel or otherwise. Possibly within a pedal, depending on the style of pedals. Or on the inside of a crank arm. Possibly epoxied to it. When the time comes for replacement, chisel it out of the aluminum, epoxy another one. 🤷
After reading this, I’m wondering how a phone could differentiate an Airtag following me from for example a guy with an Airtag sitting somewhere near me while inside a train for two hours.
I’m pretty sure it’s length of time. If you’re on a train next to someone, you won’t be for more than an hour or two. Not two days.
When the device follows you constantly for multiple days is likely when it’ll make the alert.
I believe the tracker doesn’t emit the same signal when the phone the AirTag is paired with are communicating directly. So as long as the owner of the airtag is in the vicinity it will not be considered as following/stalking you.
It can tell because the random guy’s Airtag will be connected to his iPhone, it will only notify people if it isn’t close to the owner’s device
It only notifies you if the air tag is without ite owner. If this wasn’t the case I’d be getting notifications left and right for my wife’s airtag. Instead I only get notifications when her phone is left behind but her tag is with me.
When I visit family via train, google knows I was on a train ( maps timeline ), so maybe they can tell by how straight the travel is ?
Wow, you let google watch you all the time? My location stays turned off unless needed.
How is this relevant in this context ?
But we still don’t have an equivalent android tag.
I have a Tile Tag and it’s not bad. I keep them on my keychain, in the car, and when traveling. They aren’t as predominant as Air Tags yet, but they work.
I seriously suspect that Google will eventually acquire the Tile brand so they can absorb the patents without having to start from scratch.
Aren’t there a number of small gps trackers on the market that are compatible with Android? Tile and Chipolo to name a couple.
That’s the amazing thing about air tags that no other tracker can offer. For better or for worse, every modern iPhone is - by default - reporting the location of nearby tags. It’s nearly impossible to actually lose something with an AirTag on it assuming it doesn’t come off and the area has even the faintest cell signal.
That’s far from the case with tile or any other tracker.
I’m optimistic Google will be able to wave a hand and bam now 2 billion Android devices do it courtesy of Google Play Services
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I understand but the concern but your device is reporting the location anonymously and you are not tied to the report.
You do you. But they really only violate your privacy if they’re following you. And that’s what the warning is about.
Bit OT, but has anyone used the Samsung tracker? Are they any good?
I mean they are currently /ok/ but since it’s only samsung devices it bounces off instead of every android device it doesn’t have the versatility that the Apple airtags have (where it bounces off any apple device and any android device with the app), so if it’s between one of the other I would go with air tag since you can still use them on android (with a secondary app) but as always YMMV since it’s made for Apple devices
that being said, might be changing with googles support for trackers!
This has already existed for a long time now
No it hasn’t.
Before, you had to install an app. This is a play store services update, which neans ALL android phones will be able to do it by default.
You mean it’s built in now. It still has objectively existed for a long time now. There has been an app called AirGuard around for a long time. Also not every Android has play services. There’s a large degoogled operating system community now.
With the official Apple app, you had to know that it existed, find it in the Google Play Store, install it, and then manually run it every single time you wanted to check for trackers.
With AirGuard, you had to know that an unofficial implementation existed, find it, install it, and then either run a manual sweep or have it permanently run in the background if you wanted to get notified of trackers near you.
Neither implementation would tell you how long a tracker had been following you, or where it first started following you. Neither option would allow you to ring the tracker. Neither option would allow you to read the information on the tracker via NFC.
So no, this has not “objectively existed for a long time now.”
What you mean is that other, far more limited options have existed for a while now.
