New tracking protection in iOS 17.5: Why the feature alone is not enough
Apple and Google are working together to fend off stalking attempts with Bluetooth trackers. But this only works in certain cases. A tool provides a remedy.
Find-my-device hardware like this one from Chipolo can now be tracked with iPhones.
(Image: Chipolo)
One of the key new features of iOS 17.5, which Apple released this week, is a new anti-stalking function. Instead of only detecting AirTags that may accompany the user in an unwanted way, the iPhone can now also detect Bluetooth trackers that use the Android provider's "Find My Device" (FMD) network, thanks to a cooperation with Google. Does this also mean that you can do without additional tools that protect against non-AirTags? Unfortunately not because only FMD trackers are recognized, as Apple itself admits. And these are still very rare.
Devices are still to come or will be updated
According to Google and Apple, providers such as Chipolo, eufy, Motorola, Pebblebee and Jio want to participate in FMD - with future devices or via an update. Chipolo plans to present its FMD tracker in June. The former market leader Tile, on the other hand, does not seem to be interested in the new standard. Samsung's increasingly popular SmartTag trackers, which even allow tracking via a map view, also use their own network – including the manufacturer's smartphones to determine their position. Here too, it is unlikely that they will initially support FMD.
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At least Apple and Google are trying to get other companies on board. "Apple and Google will continue to work with the Internet Engineering Task Force in the Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers working group to develop the official standard for this technology," writes Apple in a press release. The idea is simple: "With this new feature, users will receive an alert on their device when an unknown Bluetooth location device is detected moving with them, regardless of the platform the device is paired with." This is already possible on the iPhone with AirTags.
AirGuard app remains necessary
As long as not all tracker manufacturers adhere to the standard, alternative apps will be needed. The free product AirGuard from TU Darmstadt is recommended here. The app is available in the App Store and recognizes significantly more providers than the Apple-Google standard. "Existing trackers are actually not covered by this," says one of the developers, security researcher Alexander Heinrich. "This means that you are still not protected against tracking by a Samsung SmartTag and Tile trackers are still a problem for iPhone owners."
AirGuard is to be developed further in the future and will also detect FMD trackers in the future. A new feature is also the detection of flights – the app likes to strike here because you sit for hours with other people whose trackers are in your luggage. This should no longer happen in the future. The AirGuard developers are also considering recognizing other trackers that deliberately do not adhere to standards – this could be achieved using heuristics or machine learning.
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