How can you tell if there's an AirTag in your car?

[martin2345uk]

My friend is slightly concerned that someone may be tracking her car.. he always seems to know where it is, but says it's just coincidence...

I got to wondering, could he have put an AirTag in there? Is there any way she (she also has an iPhone) can tell?

 

[velocityg4]

She can setup her phone to give alerts for unknown Airtags following her.

Using iPhone to detect an unknown AirTag

AirTags are small trackers to help you locate any lost or stolen belongings. However, concerns of people using AirTag for...

9to5mac.com

 

[chrfr]

My friend is slightly concerned that someone may be tracking her car.. he always seems to know where it is, but says it's just coincidence...

I got to wondering, could he have put an AirTag in there? Is there any way she (she also has an iPhone) can tell?

There are plenty of ways to track a car that don’t require AirTags as well.

 

[martin2345uk]

Thanks for the tip

And yeah we know there are other ways, just eliminating the obvious first…

 

[MrWillie]

You’re across the pond and I’m not sure of the intricacies of you’re local laws, but a formal complaint could be filed, and if it continues, he opens the door for more stringent legal action.

Of course you and couple of your friends could ask him if he is tracking her car and tell him to stay away in an “impolite” manner.

 

[velocityg4]

I don't know if this person was ever previously authorized on her account. But she should also check and remove any devices she doesn't currently own from Find My on iCloud.

Remove a device from Find Devices on iCloud.com

Use Find Devices on iCloud.com to temporarily remove a device from your list of devices or remove Activation Lock on a device you gave away or sold.

support.apple.com

Also remove devices from her account.

How To Remove A Device From Your Apple ID Device List • macReports

You can remove a device from your Apple ID device list. Your Apple ID device list consists of your Apple devices; iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, etc;

macreports.com

Edit: Also make sure she isn't sharing her location with anyone.

"To Stop sharing location in the Find My app, go to Settings > Privacy > Location Services > Share My Location and turn off Share My Location. If you're concerned someone may have access to your Apple ID, you can also temporarily turn off Find My iPhone in this tab.

You can stop sharing your location with a particular person by going to the Find My app, going to the People tab, select the individual and tap Stop Sharing My Location. If you stop sharing your location in Find My, the person will not receive a notification, but they will not be able to see you on their list of friends. If you re-enable sharing, they get a notification that you have started sharing your location with them."

Checklist 2: Manage location information

Use this checklist for your iPhone or iPad to make sure no one else can see your location.

support.apple.com

Edit 2: She should also check her privacy settings on all apps. More specifically social media apps. Such as Facebook. To make sure she isn't using location sharing features. As I think some of them have that option. To share places you are at or have been to. This might take a lot of digging. But she might be broadcasting her location to every friend, follower, &c.

 

[Novab]

Perhaps an app that lists nearby bluetooth devices could be used to also rule out an AirTag.
I lost an AirPod in the snow once and used the app LightBlue to find it. There should be other apps with same functionality. It could of course also be a device that's not bluetooth.

 

[fischersd]

Is this an ex that had access to her phone? (you also didn't say if she has an iPhone or Android) - edit: - my bad, missed that on first read. By default, any iPhone will alert with an unknown airtag travelling with them.

Lots of devices people can get to track people - AirTag (by design) isn't nearly as precise or reliable as these other devices for that purpose.

The physical access to the phone thing - he could have changed her FindMy settings, possibly also jailbroken her phone and installed some malware that would share her location. On the Jailbreak thing - best thing is to make sure she has the latest iOS installed and audit what apps are on the phone - anything she doesn't recognize, delete it.

edit2: If they were a couple and they used family sharing, he can see her devices in FindMy. She'll need to remove herself from the family so he can't see her devices. (obviously, any purchases shared with her will be lost).

 

[velocityg4]

Is this an ex that had access to her phone? (you also didn't say if she has an iPhone or Android). My default, any iPhone will alert with an unknown airtag travelling with them.

Lots of devices people can get to track people - AirTag (by design) isn't nearly as precise or reliable as these other devices for that purpose.

The physical access to the phone thing - he could have changed her FindMy settings, possibly also jailbroken her phone and installed some malware that would share her location. On the Jailbreak thing - best thing is to make sure she has the latest iOS installed and audit what apps are on the phone - anything she doesn't recognize, delete it.

Op states she has an iPhone in the last sentence of the original post.

 

[BrianBaughn]

For trackers in general this video is informational:

 

[Hiki08]

Just a thought with the anti-stalking feature where it warns users of an airtag found moving with you... I read (here: https://9to5mac.com/2022/05/18/iphone-detect-unknown-airtag-nearby/) that the person receiving this notification can then proceed to disable the tracking on that airtag.

Wouldn't that render the airtag pointless for most theft cases as the thief will be moving with the airtag, and in 30 minutes or so they can then have the ability/authority to disable the tracking of the airtag directly from their own phone? So long as the owner doesn't find it in 30 minutes, the airtag can be rendered useless. Would this be an incorrect interpretation?

 

[fischersd]

Just a thought with the anti-stalking feature where it warns users of an airtag found moving with you... I read (here: https://9to5mac.com/2022/05/18/iphone-detect-unknown-airtag-nearby/) that the person receiving this notification can then proceed to disable the tracking on that airtag.

Wouldn't that render the airtag pointless for most theft cases as the thief will be moving with the airtag, and in 30 minutes or so they can then have the ability/authority to disable the tracking of the airtag directly from their own phone? So long as the owner doesn't find it in 30 minutes, the airtag can be rendered useless. Would this be an incorrect interpretation?

While a lot of us are using these as anti-theft devices, that isn't Apple's intent, so performance will be less than ideal.

That being said - the thief will likely get the notification when they arrive at a known location (eg their work or home as defined in their iPhone) - so, maybe they're within 30 minutes? (but, think about it - a thief will have the location of their "chop shop" in their contact card as their work?) . So, unlikely to get the notification that they're being followed in a very timely manner (and if they have an Android phone, not at all).

So, yes, you can use AirTags as an anti-theft device, but your window to realize that the item has been stolen and act on it can be shorter than you'd like.

I would think the 3rd parties that are licensing the access to the FindMy network are likely getting a different experience - as the entire point of that licensing is as an anti-theft device. Certainly within Apple's prerogative to give them a different experience. AirTags are just too portable/transferrable to get that treatment.

Edit: To clarify - I'm talking about the bicycle manufacturers that have it built in - but I could see the manufacturers of the head units for cars that support CarPlay also building it in, to leverage Apple's FindMy network for stolen vehicle retrieval (and, of course, finding your car in the mall parking lot)

 

[Hiki08]

While a lot of us are using these as anti-theft devices, that isn't Apple's intent, so performance will be less than ideal.

That being said - the thief will likely get the notification when they arrive at a known location (eg their work or home as defined in their iPhone) - so, maybe they're within 30 minutes? (but, think about it - a thief will have the location of their "chop shop" in their contact card as their work?) . So, unlikely to get the notification that they're being followed in a very timely manner (and if they have an Android phone, not at all).

So, yes, you can use AirTags as an anti-theft device, but your window to realize that the item has been stolen and act on it can be shorter than you'd like.

I would think the 3rd parties that are licensing the access to the FindMy network are likely getting a different experience - as the entire point of that licensing is as an anti-theft device. Certainly within Apple's prerogative to give them a different experience. AirTags are just too portable/transferrable to get that treatment.

Edit: To clarify - I'm talking about the bicycle manufacturers that have it built in - but I could see the manufacturers of the head units for cars that support CarPlay also building it in, to leverage Apple's FindMy network for stolen vehicle retrieval (and, of course, finding your car in the mall parking lot)

Point taken it isn't meant to be an anti-theft device. I guess that's why so many people dangle it outside their bags (and apple sells cases for that purpose).

If the thief sets their "chop shop" as their work location, will it no longer trigger the notification of an unknown airtag? Not completely well versed in how this works... I doubt a thief would set their own address in their phone regardless though as it would lead anyone with their phone right to it!

I wasn't aware that the FIndMy network is being licensed for these purposes. Interesting

 

[fischersd]

Point taken it isn't meant to be an anti-theft device. I guess that's why so many people dangle it outside their bags (and apple sells cases for that purpose).

If the thief sets their "chop shop" as their work location, will it no longer trigger the notification of an unknown airtag? Not completely well versed in how this works... I doubt a thief would set their own address in their phone regardless though as it would lead anyone with their phone right to it!

I wasn't aware that the FIndMy network is being licensed for these purposes. Interesting

In my own usage (when I'm carrying my spouse's keys with me, or walking the dog with the harness that has an AirTag linked to her Apple ID in it), I get the alert that an AirTag is travelling with me when I return to a known location (usually home). That isn't to say that Apple couldn't update the behaviours they have to do this whenever the individual in question becomes stationary for X number of minutes.

I'm thinking the enhanced use of the FindMy network is also part of Apple's push to the car manufacturers (as they're pushing for CarPlay to control everything in the cars with door to door screens).

 

[DD88]

Air tags regularly emit Bluetooth signals, so a simple tracker would show it up if pointed in the right direction.
Failing that in my expert opinion however I advise your friend ditch her car immediately, have it destroyed/ crushed and travel via bicycle to not be detected

 

[compwiz1202]

Air tags regularly emit Bluetooth signals, so a simple tracker would show it up if pointed in the right direction.
Failing that in my expert opinion however I advise your friend ditch her car immediately, have it destroyed/ crushed and travel via bicycle to not be detected

Drop it in a forty-three-foot hole in the ground
Bury it completely, rocks and boulders should be fine

- Weird Al