Apple to update AirTag trackers after fear they are being used to stalk people

(Apple)

Apple will update its AirTag item trackers amid fears they are being used to stalk people.

The small tracking pucks were released last year, and are intended to be attached to lost objects, so that they can be easily located using a phone. Using bluetooth and other technologies, the phone can precisely point to the location of something that is lost – and even borrow other people’s phones’ connections if they are far away.

But soon after their launch came fears that they were being used to track people without their consent or knowledge. People reported having the items slipped into bags or attached to their cars, with a view to stalking or robbing them.

Apple did include a range of features at launch, intended to address those fears. If an AirTag is found to be moving with an unknown person, it will ping their iPhone, and they will make a noise to help them be found.

Now it is releasing a range of new updates that change the behaviour of the trackers and attempt to address those concerns.

“We have been actively working with law enforcement on all AirTag-related requests we’ve received. Based on our knowledge and on discussions with law enforcement, incidents of AirTag misuse are rare; however, each instance is one too many,” it said.

Apple also noted that the unique serial number on the AirTag, as well as the fact they are associated with an Apple ID, mean that they can find the identity of people who are using them maliciously. It has already worked on cases where it has traced AirTags back to people who have since been charged with stalking, it said.

However, a range of new software changes are intended to make it even more difficult for users to do so.

Apple will now show new privacy warnings when users are setting them up, for instance. That will warn them that they are only to be used to track their owners’ own belongings, and that it is a crime to track people without their consent.

It is also planning a range of updates later in the year. That includes the option to use “precision finding” to locate an unknown AirTag more quickly, as well as changes to the sounds they make so that they are louder and easier to locate.