this post was submitted on 28 Jul 2023
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Android

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[โ€“] db2@lemmy.one 40 points 1 year ago (2 children)
[โ€“] Magister@lemmy.world 25 points 1 year ago (1 children)

This will be built-in Google Play for all Android 6+, no need for external app

[โ€“] snor10@lemm.ee 1 points 1 year ago

But then you have to have Google Play installed ๐Ÿคฎ๐Ÿคฎ

[โ€“] Magister@lemmy.world 12 points 1 year ago (2 children)

There's an official apple version on Google Play too just search for com.apple.trackerdetect

[โ€“] SwallowsDick@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Isn't it the one app that Apple has published on the Play Store?

[โ€“] bdonvr@thelemmy.club 9 points 1 year ago

They also have Apple Music and 'Move to iOS'

[โ€“] db2@lemmy.one 9 points 1 year ago

Apple has quite a few apps there. Music for one.

[โ€“] jetsetdorito@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago

That one can only manually scan though

[โ€“] Grass@geddit.social 35 points 1 year ago (6 children)

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?

[โ€“] Carighan@lemmy.world 31 points 1 year ago (1 children)

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.

[โ€“] CoderKat@lemm.ee 6 points 1 year ago

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.

[โ€“] ayyndrew@lemmy.world 9 points 1 year ago

Yeah, they aren't really useful for anti theft, but that's the compromise you have to make for safety

[โ€“] Luvon@beehaw.org 3 points 1 year ago

Yes it will, after some amount of time.

[โ€“] Polar@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago

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.

[โ€“] avidamoeba@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (3 children)

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.

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[โ€“] adamantris@lemmy.world 18 points 1 year ago (5 children)

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.

[โ€“] cassetti@kbin.social 4 points 1 year ago

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.

[โ€“] mp3@lemmy.ca 4 points 1 year ago

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.

[โ€“] ayyndrew@lemmy.world 4 points 1 year ago

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

[โ€“] Pancito@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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 ?

[โ€“] IceQuest@lemmy.world 3 points 1 year ago

It warns you but it doesn't contact the police for you. It's still up to you to assess the situation and your next steps. If you're on a sleeper train or have any reason to believe it's not a threat, just ignore it.

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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.

[โ€“] Routhinator@startrek.website 15 points 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) (1 children)

They can? Because I just checked on my Pixel 7 running latest update of Android 13 and the documented feature does not exist under safety and emergency. The update I'm running was released on July 5th and there are no newer updates available.

So again.... "Now"??? I guess they mean it's in the next version.

[โ€“] Chozo@kbin.social 36 points 1 year ago (1 children)

From the article:

Now Android users will soon get these "Unknown Tracker Alerts."

Emphasis mine.

[โ€“] Carighan@lemmy.world 23 points 1 year ago

Rule of android: if a post reads "now" in the headline, this means anywhere from 1 week to Never depending on where in the world you live and what phone you have.

[โ€“] csm10495@sh.itjust.works 14 points 1 year ago (3 children)

But we still don't have an equivalent android tag.

[โ€“] jo3shmoo@sh.itjust.works 10 points 1 year ago

They're coming as part of the new Find My Device network. The launch has been delayed until Apple releases their portion of the joint anti-tracking effort.

see last paragraph on Google blog post on this topic

[โ€“] cassetti@kbin.social 8 points 1 year ago

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.

[โ€“] cashsky@lemmy.world 6 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Aren't there a number of small gps trackers on the market that are compatible with Android? Tile and Chipolo to name a couple.

[โ€“] cole@lemdro.id 8 points 1 year ago (2 children)

just for clarification, they are Bluetooth trackers. They don't have a GPS radio within them and have no intrinsic knowledge of where they are located. Essentially just a Bluetooth beacon

[โ€“] paper_clip@kbin.social 1 points 1 year ago (1 children)

The drawback of non-AirTags is that they depend on people consciously opting in to the network (by, say, buying Tiles themselves and running the app). The AirTag network just exists because every iPhone is part of the network, whether or not people have bought AirTags themselves. The AirTag network is orders of magnitude larger and denser than, say, the Tile network.

This vast difference between coverage networks will also push Tiles to extinction, as the Tile network is now far, far worse than the AirTag one, and there's not much point in buying one. If you're serious about tracking your stuff, it's quite possibly worth buying a used iPad just for this purpose.

[โ€“] cole@lemdro.id 1 points 1 year ago

I suspect Tile will end up being forced into using either Google's or Apple's network. Would be cool to be able to use both someday

[โ€“] rDrDr@lemmy.world 1 points 1 year ago (2 children)

Air tags do not have GPS either. They use UWB+bluetooth but rely on the phone for location data.

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[โ€“] Cqrd@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 1 year ago (1 children)

Thatโ€™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. Itโ€™s nearly impossible to actually lose something with an AirTag on it assuming it doesnโ€™t come off and the area has even the faintest cell signal.

Thatโ€™s far from the case with tile or any other tracker.

[โ€“] cole@lemdro.id 7 points 1 year ago (3 children)

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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[โ€“] Artinizal@sh.itjust.works 5 points 1 year ago (3 children)

Is this just apple airtags or all tracking devices? Honestly all these articles do is teach stalkers not to use airtags and instead use something else.

[โ€“] BrikoX@lemmy.zip 11 points 1 year ago

the alerts currently work only with AirTags, but Google says it will work with tag manufacturers to expand its coverage.

Google and Apple built the specification, but other tracker makers needs to adopt it.

[โ€“] Tigbitties@kbin.social 6 points 1 year ago

Stalkers don't give a shit. It's not like they're thinking rationally anyway. There's quite a few non-tag options out there but you need a subscription that's attached to the device's unique ID. You can regulate and put in a million ways to prevent stalking but they will always find a way.

[โ€“] Serinus@lemmy.ml 2 points 1 year ago

And they'll have to do it without a network of billions of phones helping them.

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