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How to Disable an Unknown AirTag Found Moving With You to Prevent Being Tracked

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Apr 12, 2001
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Apple's new AirTag item tracker lets you easily track things like your keys, wallet, purse, backpack, luggage, and more. AirTags have a small, circular design with a white side and a polished stainless steel side with an Apple logo.

Apple_airtag-front-and-back-emoji-2up_042021_big.jpg.large_.jpg

AirTag has been designed to discourage unwanted tracking. If you are an iPhone or iPad user, the built-in Find My app will notify you if an unknown AirTag is seen moving with you over time by displaying an "AirTag Found Moving With You" message on the screen. Even if you don't use an iOS device, an AirTag that isn't with the person who registered it for an extended period of time will play a sound when moved.

If an unknown AirTag is found to be moving with you, follow the steps below to disable the AirTag and stop sharing your location:
  1. Tap the "AirTag Found Moving With You" message.
  2. Tap on Continue.
  3. Tap on Instructions to Disable AirTag and follow the on-screen steps.
In a new support document, Apple says users who feel their safety is at risk should contact their local law enforcement, who can work with Apple. You might need to provide the AirTag or its serial number, according to Apple. If you need help finding the AirTag, tap Play Sound after tapping on the "AirTag Found Moving With You" message.

airtag-privacy.jpeg

If you find an AirTag or a lost item with an AirTag attached that has not been moving with you, follow the steps below to learn about the AirTag and how to discover information about its original owner.

  1. Tap and hold the top of your iPhone or other NFC-capable smartphone to the white side of the AirTag.
  2. Tap the notification that appears on your phone's screen. This will open a website that provides information about the AirTag, including its serial number.
  3. If the AirTag's owner marked it as lost, you might see a message with information about how to contact the owner. You can contact the owner to let them know that you found their AirTag if you feel comfortable doing so.
AirTags have unique Bluetooth identifiers that change frequently, which helps prevent you from being tracked from place to place, according to Apple. Apple says that no one, including Apple, knows the location or identity of any of the participating users or devices who help locate a missing AirTag.

For more information, read Apple's support document.

Article Link: How to Disable an Unknown AirTag Found Moving With You to Prevent Being Tracked
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/how-to/disable-an-airtag-found-moving-with-you/
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BootLoxes said:
This was exactly what I was going to post. I want these to put on my items of value. If they take my bag and get away, then couldnt they just deactivate them?
Click to expand...
i hope there will be an explanation of how this won't happen... or maybe it's going to be on an honor system...
 
alexandr said:
i think this was explained, but what if someone stole your bag and then did this? wouldn't that defeat the purpose of having an airtag in it?
Click to expand...
There’s a certain level of liability they have to dance around so they don’t take responsibility for lost and stolen goods, nor stalkers looking to slip one into someone’s bag. This limits things a bit but doesn’t completely render the idea useless — much like many companies don’t position their smart cameras as security systems but people still use them in that fashion.
 
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Think|Different said:
There’s a certain level of liability they have to dance around so they don’t take responsibility for lost and stolen goods, nor stalkers looking to slip one into someone’s bag. This limits things a bit but doesn’t completely render the idea useless — much like many companies don’t position their smart cameras as security systems but people still use them in that fashion.
Click to expand...
the problem is thieves will know exactly what to do, while gullibly people will walk around for days with these tags in their bags...
 
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mazz0 said:
I think a bigger issue is them alerting people on public transport along with you. Worse, a subset of those people are going to be either confused or deliberately annoying and are going to disable your tracker.
Click to expand...
oh god, didn't even think of this. what a s-t show this will be. i can already see family members in dispute disabling each other's tags...
 
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They do say you only get a warning if it's nearby for 'an extended period of time' so you might have a window of opportunity should it be stolen - perhaps half a day or so?
 
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newtumor said:
Not sure if that’s the design of it as you’d have to be in Bluetooth range to pick up where they are. No gps tracking on them from what I can see.
Click to expand...
Right, but I was thinking of similar use case as Tile. Even with bluetooth, it will be able to locate the backpack using someone else's iOS device. BUT .. if it starts making noise when I am away from it (which in my use case will be by design), then I don't have any need for it.
 
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MacRumors said:


Apple's new AirTag item tracker lets you easily track things like your keys, wallet, purse, backpack, luggage, and more. AirTags have a small, circular design with a white side and a polished stainless steel side with an Apple logo.

Apple_airtag-front-and-back-emoji-2up_042021_big.jpg.large_.jpg

AirTag has been designed to discourage unwanted tracking. If you are an iPhone or iPad user, the built-in Find My app will notify you if an unknown AirTag is seen moving with you over time by displaying an "AirTag Found Moving With You" message on the screen. Even if you don't use an iOS device, an AirTag that isn't with the person who registered it for an extended period of time will play a sound when moved.

If an unknown AirTag is found to be moving with you, follow the steps below to disable the AirTag and stop sharing your location:
  1. Tap the "AirTag Found Moving With You" message.
  2. Tap on Continue.
  3. Tap on Instructions to Disable AirTag and follow the on-screen steps.
In a new support document, Apple says users who feel their safety is at risk should contact their local law enforcement, who can work with Apple. You might need to provide the AirTag or its serial number, according to Apple. If you need help finding the AirTag, tap Play Sound after tapping on the "AirTag Found Moving With You" message.

airtag-privacy.jpeg

If you find an AirTag or a lost item with an AirTag attached that has not been moving with you, follow the steps below to learn about the AirTag and how to discover information about its original owner.

  1. Tap and hold the top of your iPhone or other NFC-capable smartphone to the white side of the AirTag.
  2. Tap the notification that appears on your phone's screen. This will open a website that provides information about the AirTag, including its serial number.
  3. If the AirTag's owner marked it as lost, you might see a message with information about how to contact the owner. You can contact the owner to let them know that you found their AirTag if you feel comfortable doing so.
AirTags have unique Bluetooth identifiers that change frequently, which helps prevent you from being tracked from place to place, according to Apple. Apple says that no one, including Apple, knows the location or identity of any of the participating users or devices who help locate a missing AirTag.

For more information, read Apple's support document.

Article Link: How to Disable an Unknown AirTag Found Moving With You to Prevent Being Tracked
Click to expand...
I personally believe this is the biggest issue with the product. I think the amount of people worried about being tracked nefariously is less than the amount of people worried about their stuff being stolen. And yes I understand that people could just take the tag off, but I wouldn't be using it for cheap stuff. More interested in putting it in larger things where you can't easily take the tag off or even find where it was placed (or even better third party companies build the technology directly into their products). As far as I can tell I haven't heard of things like an iphone having this problem where people will be alerted if they are carrying your phone with them. Perhaps that means I need to just buy a bunch of phones for my tracking needs /s
 
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hipnetic said:
The one and only item that I frequently lose (inside my house) are my glasses. Unfortunately, the AirTag is too big to discretely attach to a pair of glasses.
Click to expand...
You put them on the glasses whenever you take off your glasses, then put them back on your glasses whenever you're not wearing them.
 
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