Modified AirTags pose big privacy concerns, especially for Android users | ZDNet

Apple AirTags are great. Attach them to stuff you want to keep track of, and that’s then one less thing to worry about.

I love AirTags.

But they can be abused. Or, more specifically, they can be used to abuse people.

AirTags are small and unobtrusive and can easily be tucked into a bag or coat pocket or car by people with bad intentions.

And Apple knows this.

Apple has taken a few steps to help keep users safe. iPhones running the latest iOS software will warn users if a tag that’s not registered to them is traveling with them. Tags will occasionally emit a weak beep. There’s an app that Android users can download to scan for errant tags that they might have “acquired” from others (this app is far from being great though, in my experience).

But now there’s another threat facing people — third-party modified AirTags.

And no, I won’t be providing links.

I’ve come across a range of ways AirTags have been modified, from the speaker being disabled to AirTags being dismantled and put into different cases and shells.

Some of the modified AirTags looks like AirTags, where the modification was done discreetly, to AirTags that look nothing like AirTags.

First off, let me say that I don’t believe that modifying an AirTag is wrong, and I can see reasons why people might want an AirTag in a different shape or with the speaker disabled.

But.

These create an increased risk of surreptitious tracking for people.

AirTags that don’t beep — and let’s be honest that the beep from an AirTag is pretty weaksauce at best — will go unnoticed by Android users not actively scanning for them, and without the beep might be very hard to find even for iPhone users to find.

I believe that Apple could — and needs — to do more to protect users.

Here’s some things that come off the top of my head:

• Make AirTags harder to modify, perhaps by filling with epoxy, or building with tamperproofing in mind
• Work with Google to bring comprehensive tag tracking to both iOS and Android (much like both companies worked together to build a COVID framework)
• Introduce a way for users to report tags that might be being misused (how do you prevent this feature from being misused will need some thought)

Bottom line, I think Apple, along with the rest of Big Tech, need to do better. How easy it is to plan one of these on someone, combined with how hard they can be to find, how poor the Android app is, and how easy they are to modify arew things that need to be addressed.

What should you do if you find a tag tracking you? My advice would be to remove the battery and decide from there whether you’re going to go to the police or not. With the battery out, the tag is then harmless, and gives you some time to think about what you want to do next.

If you’re someone thinking of using a tracker to track someone, be aware that you could be breaking any number of laws.