What to Do If an AirTag Is Detected Near You
Aug. 7, 2024AnAirTagis a super-useful device that lets you track your important items like keys, wallet, or luggage, and even keep an eye on your pets. You can always know the location of your AirTag in the Find My app. With this convenience also comes unethical tracking concerns. A shady user can plant an AirTag in your bag, jacket, or somewhere around you and track your location without your content. To alert you about this, your iPhone or Android phone may display “AirTag Detected Near You” alerts. If you’re worried that someone has planted an AirTag on you to track your location, we’re here to help. In this article, we’ll tell you what to do if an AirTag is detected near you. Let’s begin!
What are “AirTag Detected Near You” and “AirTag Moving With You” Alerts
Apple’s Find My app allows you to track the current and last known locations of your Apple devices, accessories, and items with attached AirTags. Unarguably, the Find My network’s tracking capabilities are helpful to track your lost or stolen items, some people may use AirTags or evenAirPods to track other people.Although this is illegal, it’s still happening. Thankfully, AirTag, AirPods, and other Find My network accessories have some features that can protect you against unwanted tracking.
To prevent the misuse of Bluetooth location-tracking devices for unwanted tracking, Apple and Google worked together and came up with a solution. If an AirTag gets separated from its owner and is seen moving with you over time, you’ll get alerts on both iOS and Android devices. You’ll be notified in two ways:
If an AirTag is detected near you, move to the below sections to find it and disable it.
There can be instances when you’ve borrowed an AirTag or an item attached to the AirTag (like keys or a suitcase) from your friend or a family member. Also, you may get “AirTag Detected near you” notifications, even if they belong to you or someone you know. This happens when AirPods is connected toanother Apple ID.If you’ve borrowed someone else’s AirTag or an attached item, you can turn off alerts for that item for one day or indefinitely. Here’s how to pause alerts on AirTag:
If you regularly get notifications and alerts for other family members’ AirTag or AirPods, you can stop those alerts by identifying all these devices as familiar, and not unknown or lost items. For this, you mustenable Family Sharing on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac.
Go toSettings->[Your name]-> Family Sharingand follow the on-screen instructions. Once you’re done, go toFind My>Peopleand you’ll see your family members and their devices have been added.
If you see an “AirTag detected near you” alert on your iPhone, it doesn’t necessarily mean someone is stalking you, it could also mean that someone has lost an AirTag or the attached item, and you found it. If an item is lost, it should be stationary, and you’ll stop receiving those AirTag-detected notifications when you move out of Bluetooth range. However, the concern arises when the AirTag moves with you. If you keep getting notifications, the AirTag is likely with you or your vehicle. Whenever you see such alerts, must find the AirTag and disable it.
When you see “AirTag detected near you” or “AirTag found moving with you” alerts, you must try to find the little tracker. It’s easy to find an unknown AirTag on an iPhone. On the Find My app, you can check if you can play a sound on the unknown AirTag. Here’s how to do it:
In case, the option to play sound isn’t available, the unknown AirTag might not be with you anymore. If the item was with you overnight, its identifier might have changed. The Find My app uses the identifier to determine if it’s the same item detected near you or moving with you. Also, if the AirTag is now within range of the owner, you cannot play a sound.
If you can’t play a sound and are still getting the same alert, you must check your belongings for the hidden AirTag. Thoroughly check your pockets, jackets, bags, wallet, and purse. If you’re sitting in a car, make sure to check under the seats, glove compartment, and the exterior.
Just like iOS,Android devices can also detect unknown AirTags. If an unwanted Bluetooth tracker is moving with you for at least ten minutes, you’ll see apop-up alerton your Android smartphone. You’ll also have an option toPlay soundand find the exact location of the AirTag.
Apart from alerts, you can manually scan for nearby AirTags on Android phones. For this, go toSettings>Safety and emergency >Unknown tracker alertsand tap onScan Now.This will take a few minutes and bring up a list of trackers placed near you or in your belongings without your consent.
Also, Apple offers aTracker Detect app for Androidto find out unknown AirTags around you. The app is easy to use and searches for Apple AirTags that are separated from their owner and are compatible with Find My network. Bear in mind that the app can’t automatically look for unwanted trackers, you have to initiate the scan manually. Here’s how to do it:
Once you’ve found the AirTag that doesn’t belong to you, it’s time to find the owner. If you’ve found the tracker lying on the ground attached to keys or wallet, it’s safe to assume that someone has actually lost it. You canuse your iPhone or an NFC-enabled Android phoneto find the owner of the item. Here’s what you need to do:
Note:Don’t touch the unknown AirTag as it will destroy all the possible evidence like fingerprints. Take your phone to the AirTag, and not vice-versa.
If you’ve found an unknown AirTag that isn’t in lost mode and doesn’t belong to someone you know, you must disable the AirTag to prevent the owner from seeing your location. To do this, you just have to remove theAirTag battery.
To disable an AirTag, you just have to remove its battery. If you can’t see the instructions on your phone, no worries, just follow the below steps:
It’s worth knowing that disabling Find My Network, Bluetooth, and Location Services on your iPhone will not prevent the owner from seeing the AirTag location. You must disable the AirTag using the above steps.
There can be instances when you’ve found an unknown AirTag near you or in your belongings, but you didn’t get any alerts on your iPhone or iPad. Other than an alert, Apple may also use a second method to warn you. If you don’t see an alert for any reason, the AirTag will make a sound to alert you, if it’s separated from its owner for a long time.
Apple offers some features that are specially designed to discourage bad actors from trying to track you without your knowledge. To get alerts, you should always make sure to enable the following features:
No, AirTags don’t have GPS. Rather, they use Find My Network which has over two billion devices. When an AirTag comes into contact with one of the devices, it will update its location in the Find My app.
An AirTag can’t update your location in real-time, but the owner can still have an idea of where you are. When an AirTag is in the Bluetooth range of any Find My Network device, it will keep updating its location, which allows the owner to track the AirTag (and you).
The easiest way to prevent an AirTag from tracking you is to remove its battery. This will disable the AirTag and the owner won’t see your location.
