Tag Safety
We have noted a number of times some of the issues that surround the use of tagging devices, such as Apple’s (AAPL) Air Tags and Samsung’s Galaxy Smart Tag, as the industry struggles with questions about the security of such devices and how they can be used for nefarious purposes, particularly as unidentified tracking devices. While this has been an issue since such tagging devices have been in use, until more recent versions, which are small enough to be easily hidden, such security issues were more of a cloak and dagger scenario than one where they might be used to steal cars or track the whereabouts of a cheating spouse.
Apple has taken much of the heat about tag security since the release of Air Tags in April of last year and there has been a considerable number of stories circulating about how Air Tags have helped find important items or confused folks wandering in parking lots on the positive side or how they have been used to steal cars or stalk unsuspecting folks on the negative side. The good news is that Apple;’s entry into the market has pushed the industry toward better understanding of how the devices and infrastructure can be made safer and recently Apple has responded further with plans for helping users be aware of the potential for Air Tag misuse.
Apple will be enhancing Air Tags and the “Find My” network, although no specific date has been given as to implementation, but while some of the improvements are relatively weak boilerplate legal warnings about misusing the devices, there are a few that are noteworthy. Later this year Apple will introduce what it calls ‘precision finding’, where a user who receives an alert about an unknown Air Tag can get information about the direction and distance of that tag to the user, and as the user moves, he/she can use the camera of their iPhone to pinpoint the offending tag through visual, haptic, and audio feedback.
Existing iPhone users currently get an “Unknown Accessory Detected” message when an Air Pod or 3rd party ‘Find My’ accessory is moving with them, however this does not identify the device itself unless it is an Air Pod and can cause concern, even if it is an Apple device left nearby. The new system updates will identify all Air Pods and changes the sound emitted by an ‘unknown’ Air Tag from a beep after 3 days to one that will begin after only hours, along with a phone alert, so if a device has been secretly planted, it will begin beeping far sooner than in the past, alerting the ‘stalkee’ that something is amiss, rather than days later.
Some of the changes, and there are others, will likely demand a firmware update while others could be built into upcoming iOS releases but we give Apple credit in that they are working toward making improvements in tag security rapidly, despite the fact that the Air Pods themselves were originally designed to be more secure than others, at least when they were released.
A few more notes on UWB (Ultra-wide Band) tags here:
12/06/21 Air Tags – A New Application?
8/5/21 Air Tag Tussle
4/2/21 The Tags are Getting Close
1/18/21 Lost in the Leaves
Apple has taken much of the heat about tag security since the release of Air Tags in April of last year and there has been a considerable number of stories circulating about how Air Tags have helped find important items or confused folks wandering in parking lots on the positive side or how they have been used to steal cars or stalk unsuspecting folks on the negative side. The good news is that Apple;’s entry into the market has pushed the industry toward better understanding of how the devices and infrastructure can be made safer and recently Apple has responded further with plans for helping users be aware of the potential for Air Tag misuse.
Apple will be enhancing Air Tags and the “Find My” network, although no specific date has been given as to implementation, but while some of the improvements are relatively weak boilerplate legal warnings about misusing the devices, there are a few that are noteworthy. Later this year Apple will introduce what it calls ‘precision finding’, where a user who receives an alert about an unknown Air Tag can get information about the direction and distance of that tag to the user, and as the user moves, he/she can use the camera of their iPhone to pinpoint the offending tag through visual, haptic, and audio feedback.
Existing iPhone users currently get an “Unknown Accessory Detected” message when an Air Pod or 3rd party ‘Find My’ accessory is moving with them, however this does not identify the device itself unless it is an Air Pod and can cause concern, even if it is an Apple device left nearby. The new system updates will identify all Air Pods and changes the sound emitted by an ‘unknown’ Air Tag from a beep after 3 days to one that will begin after only hours, along with a phone alert, so if a device has been secretly planted, it will begin beeping far sooner than in the past, alerting the ‘stalkee’ that something is amiss, rather than days later.
Some of the changes, and there are others, will likely demand a firmware update while others could be built into upcoming iOS releases but we give Apple credit in that they are working toward making improvements in tag security rapidly, despite the fact that the Air Pods themselves were originally designed to be more secure than others, at least when they were released.
A few more notes on UWB (Ultra-wide Band) tags here:
12/06/21 Air Tags – A New Application?
8/5/21 Air Tag Tussle
4/2/21 The Tags are Getting Close
1/18/21 Lost in the Leaves
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