- Apple and Google released a proposal with software fixes to unwanted tracking by Bluetooth devices.
- The system would alert a user's phone if it detects a nearby tracker that has been separated from its owners device.
Apple and Google are combining forces to stop the use of Bluetooth tracking devices like AirTags for stalking people without their consent.
The two tech giants released a proposal Tuesday outlining standards to ensure products like the Apple AirTag and similar tech gadgets aren't misused for stalking and unwanted tracking. The proposal is also backed by Samsung and the companies that produce other popular tracking brands including Tile, Chipolo, and Pebblebee, the companies said in a press release.
The proposal comes in response to an uptick in reports of nefarious uses of the tags, which were designed to help users keep track of personal items items like wallets or luggage. In addition to reports of stalking, in one March incident in Texas a man used an AirTag to track his stolen truck and fatally shot the man who he believed had stolen it.
The companies said they plan to create software that will send an alert to a user's phone when it detects a nearby tracker that has been "separated from the owner's device," and help them find and disable it.
The trackers would be required to be able to make a sound when it is separated from its owner's device, or when a "non-owner" has been notified of its presence and is trying to find it, according to the proposal. Manufacturers would also have to provide instructions or a visual guide on how to disable a tracker once a non-owner finds it.
Someone who finds a tracker that does not belong to them will also be able to discover partial information on the tracker's owner, including a few digits or letters of an associated phone number or email address.
According to the proposal, this information would be provided because in many cases, people who are tracked without their knowledge know the person tracking them. This limited information could confirm the identity if they know the person, while also not providing enough information to identify the tracker's owner if it is simply a mistakenly found tracker.
Apple and Google did not provide an estimated date for when the new features – which will come in the form of software updates — would roll out to iPhones and Androids. However, Apple said in a statement it hopes to have a version of the updates released by the end of the year.
Apple and other companies have already introduced a system like the one proposed Tuesday, but without wider adoption and capabilities some like Washington Post tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler have criticized the existing alert systems as inadequate, and said it needs to be more proactive in alerting users.
Erica Olsen, senior director of the National Network to End Domestic Violence's Safety Net Project, said in a statement that the proposal is a positive step, adding that the burden of stopping tracking should be on the manufacturers of the trackers, not the people being tracked.
"Unwanted surveillance is an all too common tactic of abuse and it's imperative for advocates and technology companies to work together on solutions to minimize the opportunities for misuse," Olsen said. "These draft standards to allow detection of unwanted trackers is a significant step forward in the work to increase safety and privacy."