Following the launch of the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag earlier this year, Apple introduced its location tracking AirTags. Thanks to Apple's tight ecosystem integration, the AirTags proved to be far more powerful than all alternatives, allowing users to track their belongings accurately.
To prevent users from tracking others, Apple implemented a feature that would alert users if an unknown AirTag followed them longer than a predefined duration. However, we soon learned that one could easily bypass this security measure if the person being tracked didn't own an iPhone running iOS 14.5 or later. While Apple has pushed the software update to most of its devices, it still doesn't have an app to alert Android users if an AirTag is tracking them. Thankfully, Apple has now announced that it's developing an Android app that will help users detect unknown AirTags.
According to CNET, Apple will release the Android app later this year, further bolstering AirTags privacy and security. On top of that, the company is also planning to make some changes to the time it takes for the AirTags to play an alert when it's separated from its owner. Apple has already started pushing an update, which changes the window of time it takes to play a sound when tracking another person. Previously, the AirTags played a sound three days after following an unsuspecting person. But with the update, the sound will begin to play at a random time within an 8-24 hour window.
In a statement regarding the changes, Apple said, "The recent introduction of AirTag included industry-first proactive features that discourage unwanted tracking." The new changes represent a continued commitment to improve AirTags privacy and security, the company added. Apple hasn't shared any more details about the Find My accessory detection app for Android at the moment. We'll update this post as soon as we have more information.