Apple developing AirTag detection app for Android, new firmware update out today
Apple has revealed in an interview with CNET that it is rolling out an AirTag firmware update today to reduce the length of time it takes for people to be notified when an unknown AirTag is travelling with them, with a new Android app in development to let non-Apple users detect AirTags and other accessories in the Find My network.
Currently, if an AirTag is travelling with anyone other than it’s owner, it will play a sound after three days of being away from their owner. Today’s update reduces that time to play anytime after eight hours and within 24 hours.
Android users will see a new AirTag detection app released later this year, that will let them detect an unknown AirTag or any other accessory connected to the Find My network that happens to be travelling with them.
To further reassure people about its AirTags, Apple said it’s developing an app for Android devices that will help people “detect” an AirTag or Find My network-enabled device that may also be unsuspectedly “traveling” with them. The app will be released later this year. – “The recent introduction of AirTag included industry first proactive features that discourage unwanted tracking,” Apple said in a statement. The moves, it added, represent a continued commitment to improve AirTag’s privacy and security.
Apple’s new privacy measures follow after AirTags have come under scrutiny for not doing enough to deter malicious use of the trackers, namely not notifying users for several days when an unknown AirTag is detected.
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