Apple and Google release a standard to prevent the abuse of AirTag and Tile trackers

Apple and Google said today that they’ve “submitted a proposed” a specification to stop people from being stalked by AirTag or Tile trackers.

Apple claims in its newsroom post that the specification was developed with input from a variety of device manufacturers and safety and advocacy organizations. The companies Eufy, Pebblebee, Samsung, Tile, Chipolo, and “expressed support” for the specification each.

After numerous examples of trackers like Apple’s AirTag trackers being used for malicious stalking in a variety of settings, this new development follows. We wrote in our initial AirTag review that the tracker’s capabilities were impressive for its intended uses, but unfortunately also impressive for malicious purposes.

Over the long haul, Apple has presented a progression of changes and new projects connected with AirTag trackers that have diminished (however not disposed of) a portion of those worries. For the most part, iPhone clients are preferable safeguarded over Android clients, who should select in to download an application that will recognize undesirable AirTag trackers.

The present declaration contains not many insights concerning precisely exact thing this standard is or the way in which it will work, other than that it’s planned to make it simpler for a large number of gadgets to be utilized in halting undesirable following, both as far as trackers that are all the more effectively identified and a more extensive scope of different gadgets working with their location.

Through the standards development group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), Apple and Google submitted this proposal. Through that organization, other businesses will participate in a discussion about the proposed standard over the next few months; Apple and Google intend to carry out the norm when this year.

Since it is still early days, it is impossible to comment on whether this standard will accomplish its intended goals or significantly alter the existing system. Nevertheless, something has to take place: Over the course of the past few years, there have been numerous reports of misuse of trackers like these—not just AirTag.