Apple releases AirTag 'Tracker Detect' app for Android

AppleInsiderAppleInsider
Posted:
in General Discussion
"Tracker Detect" app aimed to help Android users find nearby AirTags and other Find My trackers is now available in the Google Play Store.




When AirTag was first launched, many users were concerned with the relatively cheap trackers being used for nefarious purposes. While iPhone users would be warned of a strange AirTag nearby, Android users were left out.

Now, with "Tracker Detect," Android users can get the some peace of mind, but it is a manual process. With the app installed, Android users can search nearby for active trackers on the Find My network, this includes Apple's AirTag.

If an AirTag has been near you for over 10 minutes, an option to play a sound appears. The Android user can then play a sound to locate the nearby AirTag and disable it.

While the feature isn't automatic like it is on iOS, it gives non-Apple users some level of control if they feel that a tracker may have been placed on their person or belongings. The app will give users access to the device serial number as well, which may be needed when contacting law enforcement.

Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 12
    MustSeeUHDTVMustSeeUHDTV Posts: 283member
    Good, but how do they notify that masses of Android users?


    I already posed this news segment about people stealing cars.......
    https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/verify/technology-verify/airtags-strangers-unknown-can-track-location-even-if-not-your-own/536-11082147-7387-46e2-81c4-8327f839d735
    williamlondon
  • Reply 2 of 12
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 1,835member
    If I'm sitting in a restaurant and some jerk at the next tables disables the AirTag on my keyring, I'm gonna be really upset.

    Is there going to be a way to determine whether some idiot has disabled my AirTag without pulling out the Find My app?
    badmonkwilliamlondonwatto_cobratokyojimu
  • Reply 3 of 12
    Apple_BarApple_Bar Posts: 134member
    beowulfschmidt said:
    If I'm sitting in a restaurant and some jerk at the next tables disables the AirTag on my keyring, I'm gonna be really upset.

    Is there going to be a way to determine whether some idiot has disabled my AirTag without pulling out the Find My app?
    restaurant, airports, flights, concerts, college, that jackass family member (we all have one).

    the bigger ? what to do after that jerk disables the item… Contact Apple? Will it pair again? Wish a Metro Bus run over the jerk who disabled the AirTag?
  • Reply 4 of 12
    thrangthrang Posts: 972member
    beowulfschmidt said:
    If I'm sitting in a restaurant and some jerk at the next tables disables the AirTag on my keyring, I'm gonna be really upset.

    Is there going to be a way to determine whether some idiot has disabled my AirTag without pulling out the Find My app?
    I'm pretty sure if your AirTag is with you and your iOS device(s), it doesn't broadcast as a rogue tag for others to be notified.
    williamlondonwatto_cobratokyojimu
  • Reply 5 of 12
    maciekskontaktmaciekskontakt Posts: 1,169member
    Well, first of all it is not in Google App Store yet tor it is buried under pile of other apps. Maybe it is because it has only two stars and a lot of quality issue bad rap on the store. We can agree that this should scan automatically like on iOS rather than take obsessed person to punch the button to scan every time.
    edited December 2021 williamlondon
  • Reply 6 of 12
    maciekskontaktmaciekskontakt Posts: 1,169member
    thrang said:
    beowulfschmidt said:
    If I'm sitting in a restaurant and some jerk at the next tables disables the AirTag on my keyring, I'm gonna be really upset.

    Is there going to be a way to determine whether some idiot has disabled my AirTag without pulling out the Find My app?
    I'm pretty sure if your AirTag is with you and your iOS device(s), it doesn't broadcast as a rogue tag for others to be notified.
    I find this statement very interesting. What is criteria of rogue tag? We are talking about tagging person or person's property. It could be for bad reasons or for good reasons. I tend to follow to suck the sucker if I know I am under surveillance. Then stuff like that ultimately ends up in sewage pipes for tracking person or "agency" to keep up with the "good work". Entry into is in the restroom.
    williamlondon
  • Reply 7 of 12
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    beowulfschmidt said:
    If I'm sitting in a restaurant and some jerk at the next tables disables the AirTag on my keyring, I'm gonna be really upset.

    Is there going to be a way to determine whether some idiot has disabled my AirTag without pulling out the Find My app?
    I don't think they can disable it with the app, just make it ping.  They need to physically locate it and take the battery out to disable it.  If some jerk at a restaurant does that then it'll be pretty clear who it is.
    kdupuis77
  • Reply 8 of 12
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 1,835member
    thrang said:
    beowulfschmidt said:
    If I'm sitting in a restaurant and some jerk at the next tables disables the AirTag on my keyring, I'm gonna be really upset.

    Is there going to be a way to determine whether some idiot has disabled my AirTag without pulling out the Find My app?
    I'm pretty sure if your AirTag is with you and your iOS device(s), it doesn't broadcast as a rogue tag for others to be notified.
    What is the basis for your surety?  I would hope that you are right, but I haven't seen anything that actually claims this.
  • Reply 9 of 12
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 1,835member

    crowley said:
    If I'm sitting in a restaurant and some jerk at the next tables disables the AirTag on my keyring, I'm gonna be really upset.

    Is there going to be a way to determine whether some idiot has disabled my AirTag without pulling out the Find My app?
    I don't think they can disable it with the app, just make it ping.  They need to physically locate it and take the battery out to disable it.  If some jerk at a restaurant does that then it'll be pretty clear who it is.
    Maybe.  And then again maybe not.  Nothing I've seen yet makes it clear one way or the other.  The statement in the article merely says "play a sound to locate the nearby AirTag and disable it"; it doesn't mention how the disablement must be done.  I hope they can't disable it from an app, whether it be an Apple one or an Android one.
  • Reply 10 of 12
    crowleycrowley Posts: 10,453member
    beowulfschmidt said:

    crowley said:
    If I'm sitting in a restaurant and some jerk at the next tables disables the AirTag on my keyring, I'm gonna be really upset.

    Is there going to be a way to determine whether some idiot has disabled my AirTag without pulling out the Find My app?
    I don't think they can disable it with the app, just make it ping.  They need to physically locate it and take the battery out to disable it.  If some jerk at a restaurant does that then it'll be pretty clear who it is.
    Maybe.  And then again maybe not.  Nothing I've seen yet makes it clear one way or the other.  The statement in the article merely says "play a sound to locate the nearby AirTag and disable it"; it doesn't mention how the disablement must be done.  I hope they can't disable it from an app, whether it be an Apple one or an Android one.
    Pretty sure you can’t disable an AirTag from an unpaired iPhone, so would be baffled if you could from an Android device.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 11 of 12
    kdupuis77kdupuis77 Posts: 36member
    Apple_Bar said:
    If I'm sitting in a restaurant and some jerk at the next tables disables the AirTag on my keyring, I'm gonna be really upset.

    Is there going to be a way to determine whether some idiot has disabled my AirTag without pulling out the Find My app?
    restaurant, airports, flights, concerts, college, that jackass family member (we all have one).

    the bigger ? what to do after that jerk disables the item… Contact Apple? Will it pair again? Wish a Metro Bus run over the jerk who disabled the AirTag?
    To clarify, what they mean here is that the user could play a sound to aid them in locating the AirTag itself to then, assuming of course it is on their person or in their own belongings and not on someone near them, they could proceed to PHYSICALLY disable it. There is no way to remote disable an AirTag from any device not signed into the iCloud account to which it is registered. I tried this out with an AirTag I registered to my wife's iPhone (car keys) and my iPhone identified the tag near me and gave me the owner's phone number (formatted as: XXX-XXX-1234) and had a button that brought up some information on how to physically open up, an AirTag you find on you, and remove the battery to make it stop tracking you.

    So there shouldn't be anything to worry about them being remotely disabled. It's a strange fine line between preventing stalking and alerting thieves to the presence of a tracker in your stuff I guess.

    Also the other day I had her car, to get the tires replaced and some other stuff, and after about 8 hours of being out of the house with her keyring got the audible beeping on the drive home that night. I also received a notification that another user's AirTag was moving with me. I was able to silence the notification indefinitely (don't care, its one of two vehicles we use interchangeably) which is nice at least. And I also have it set to not alert her if either keyring is left at home or her place of work (Not gonna get far in New Hampshire leaving work without car keys haha). Also, for the past month I have never got the alert when we were carrying these keys around all day long and were together (ie. near her iPhone) which is good considering I just got a wallet that conveniently lets you slip one into an exterior slot that I carry daily. I hope Apple does eventually open the system up to allowing multiple members of the same family to track communal AirTags like we can already who with our Macs, iPads, iPhones, Apple Watches and AirPods... I registered the AirTags to her since she tends to misplace her keys a bit more than I lol. So now if I leave my home without my Apple Watch, iPhone, Wallet and Truck Keys Apple will sure let me know about it haha.
    edited December 2021 watto_cobramuthuk_vanalingamtokyojimubeowulfschmidt
  • Reply 12 of 12
    beowulfschmidtbeowulfschmidt Posts: 1,835member
    kdupuis77 said:

    I tried this out with an AirTag I registered to my wife's iPhone (car keys) and my iPhone identified the tag near me and gave me the owner's phone number (formatted as: XXX-XXX-1234) and had a button that brought up some information on how to physically open up, an AirTag you find on you, and remove the battery to make it stop tracking you.
    Excellent.  Thanks.
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