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Since Apple launched the AirTags, its tiny tracking tags, there were some stories of particularly creative uses for them: from the lawyer who managed to help the homeless to the scooter rider who managed to find his stolen tool. But now we may be hearing a little less about these stories, after Apple released the beta of iOS 15.2 with an easy and interesting addition.
At the click of a button – to know if you have an Airtag
As part of the update, Apple has also upgraded the Find My app that allows the detection of AirTags (and other Apple devices), and now by clicking on the Items tab you will see a new option called Items That Can Track Me. By clicking on it, the device will start scanning if there is an AirTag nearby that does not belong to the user, and if so, the software will even guide you on how to disable the tag.
Apple is a company that has pretty much turned privacy into a kind of flagship feature in its products and a significant portion of its events are dedicated to features that maintain user privacy, and when a company that places so much emphasis on privacy launches a device like AirTag, it needs to start defending. This is because many fear that the AirTag can also be used as a fairly inexpensive and convenient tracking device. So far, if someone had planted an Airtag on you, he would start beeping 8 to 24 hours after he was separated from his owner, and iPhone users should also be notified that there is an Airtag that does not belong to them near them.
The new add-on will allow users to anticipate this process, and actively check if they are in the vicinity of a detection device that does not belong to them (our hearts with the paranoids that may find themselves pressing this button all day). But in practice, the more popular Airtags become, the less sympathetic people will recognize them, and the next time they steal the bike or wallet you hid in, AirTag will be able to find it in an instant. In short, the addition of the location tag locator feature (something oxymoron) is requested and necessary, but also in practice somewhat neutralizes one of the reasons for its purchase.
Most likely after the beta, Apple will also go back to working on its version that it also promised to Android users, which will also allow them to check if there is an Airtag around them that might be following them. Because you know, the right not to be followed should not be reserved only for iOS users.