this post was submitted on 04 Apr 2024
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Google’s expanded Find My Device network might arrive in a few days (www.theverge.com)
submitted 7 months ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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[–] [email protected] 19 points 7 months ago (1 children)

This is not correct. Android devices can detect apple's air tags and alert users when an unauthorized tag is nearby. Google delayed the launch of their network to wait for Apple to implement the same feature for Android compatible tags, which is finally coming in the next iOS update.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 7 months ago* (last edited 7 months ago) (1 children)

Android has no way of knowing if a tag is "unauthorized" because Apple does not provision access to their tag network. You could, in principle, ignore tags that you know about, but you'd have to do it by identifying it by some arbitrary hexadecimal GATT ID.

As always, Apple wants to keep it that way, because it gives a poor experience on Android.

Theoretically (and I might be wrong about this), without attempting to reverse engineer how Apple assigns these codes, there would be no to differentiate AirTags, AirPods, iPhones, etc.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 7 months ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

Yeah probably one of the only things Apple and Google could decide on together.

[–] [email protected] -2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Yes, users have begun to be alerted of trackers—this is the recent change by Google as it relates to this post. An ongoing issue is, to my knowledge, that there's no way to identify what kind of device it is. Goggle's instructions literally suggest taking a screenshot of the serial number for later reference.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I get alerts on my Android for an Airtag I keep in my backpack all the time. My phone gives me the option to make the Airtag play a sound.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 7 months ago

Allow me to clarify:

  • Limited support for AirTags has been added to Android, that is the context of the posted article and the experience you are describing.
  • Apple neither supports account access on Android devices or provisions access to their tag network on behalf of linked accounts, so unless you have an Apple device, you cannot stipulate that a tag that belongs to you.

Consequently, the solution offered by Google appears to have been effectively built without Apple's support. Goggle's added support for AirTags despite Apple's cooperation—and support for other tracking devices—is a net positive for privacy.