Android Starts Building Tracker Detection and Notifications into OS

Google has finally started implementing unknown tracker detection and alerts on Android devices that will tell you if you have a hidden AirTag around you.

Apple AirTags and similar devices from other companies are extremely useful, whether tracking baggage, cars, bikes or even pets. The problem is that they can also be used to track people, and there have been numerous reports over the years of such incidents.

It’s no big issue if you have an iPhone because iOS already has this privacy feature available. The phone will immediately notify users if a rogue AirTag or similar tracker is around them, and there’s even the option to make it emit sounds, making it easier to find.

Android is also rolling out this security feature, starting with Android 6.x, according to a 9to5Google report. Android users should receive a notification that a tracker is traveling with them, stating that an “unknown Bluetooth tracker is separated from its owner and is determined to be traveling with you.”

The service goes beyond this warning, as users can also see on a map when the tracker started its journey and play a sound without informing the owner. This is the same type of functionality found in iOS.

Android will also let users manually scan for trackers around them from Settings > Safety & Emergency > Unknown tracker alerts > Scan Now. The new functionality will arrive on Android devices in the next few weeks via a Google Play Services update.