Known AirTags still generate “Moving with You” warning - FindMy bug?

[JTK Awesome]

Per title. My wife and I are in the same Apple family (sharing) and can “see“ each other’s devices in FindMy. Even so, more often than not, one of us will get the “moving with you” warning in FindMy about one or more of the other’s AirTags when we’re traveling together. (BTW our Pebblebee Cards sometimes do this in addition to Apple AirTags.)

While it’s amusing to see FindMy map out things like a recent Uber trip taken together (under “Items Detected with You” > “Unknown AirTag”), it’s also annoying. Is this a bug? Is there a fix or workaround?

 

[dallardice]

Both my husband and I have had this with each other's AirTags. When the problem was with mine I ended up unpairing them, factory resetting them and restarting from scratch. For my husband's, just changing the battery was enough - it hadn't alerted low battery but on looking under 'Find My' it was showing a low battery icon.

For me the most frustrating thing is the anti-stalking jingle that it plays every so often - not fun if you're in a quiet environment like a theatre or business meeting. I know that it is there for a good reason, but unless they can fix false alerts, it will mean me having to dump AirTags...

 

[JTK Awesome]

For me the most frustrating thing is the anti-stalking jingle that it plays every so often - not fun if you're in a quiet environment like a theatre or business meeting. I know that it is there for a good reason, but unless they can fix false alerts, it will mean me having to dump AirTags...

OMG thanks for posting this. I was wondering about the random AirTag bleeps me and Mrs. JTK get now and again. It's especially a problem for her as a school teacher, having the stupid AirTag sound out in the middle of class for no reason.

 

[Analog Kid]

Just had the same thing happen the other day. I think this is a recent bug...

 

[Itinj24]

AirTags do not support family sharing. You shouldn’t be able to see each other’s AirTags under the Items tab in the Find My app. Since this is the case, the AirTag will still employ its ridiculous anti-stalking features. I say ridiculous because not adding Family Sharing is a huge miss by Apple. Amazing my wife and I can track each others iPhone’s, Apple Watches, MacBooks, AirPods, etc. We both know where each other are at all times but heaven forbid I know where her keys are or she knows where my wallet is.

 

[cynics]

AirTags do not support family sharing. You shouldn’t be able to see each other’s AirTags under the Items tab in the Find My app. Since this is the case, the AirTag will still employ its ridiculous anti-stalking features. I say ridiculous because not adding Family Sharing is a huge miss by Apple. Amazing my wife and I can track each others iPhone’s, Apple Watches, MacBooks, AirPods, etc. We both know where each other are at all times but heaven forbid I know where her keys are or she knows where my wallet is.

Probably sharing an AppleID....

 

[dallardice]

AirTags do not support family sharing. You shouldn’t be able to see each other’s AirTags under the Items tab in the Find My app. Since this is the case, the AirTag will still employ its ridiculous anti-stalking features. I say ridiculous because not adding Family Sharing is a huge miss by Apple. Amazing my wife and I can track each others iPhone’s, Apple Watches, MacBooks, AirPods, etc. We both know where each other are at all times but heaven forbid I know where her keys are or she knows where my wallet is.

OP did say that they could see each other's Devices in FindMy - didn't say that they could see each other's Items. Separate tabs in FindMy. But agree, the fact that I can see where my husband's phone is (and so where he is) but not help if he's left his keys at home is bizarre.

 

[jdavid_rp]

Probably sharing an AppleID....

I think OP didn't mention anywhere that he can see his wife's AirTags, also he actually mentions family sharing with obviously you need 2+ accounts.

I think he means like if they can see each other devices, why can't they see eachother items (Find My trackers) too?

 

[cynics]

I think OP didn't mention anywhere that he can see his wife's AirTags, also he actually mentions family sharing with obviously you need 2+ accounts.

I think he means like if they can see each other devices, why can't they see eachother items (Find My trackers) too?

Just re-read the thread, I must have been on drugs because I don't know why I replied that.

To answer the question its because of end to end encryption.

When you first setup a Find My network accessory such as an AirTag the AirTag stores a public key and the iOS device stores a private key plus a 256bit secret in Keychain. The AirTag is also registered with the Find My network, I believe the secrets hash data is also sent but dont quote me.

When the accessory is lost it broadcast its public key plus an identifier via bluetooth. The finder device receives this, adds its own location data, encrypts it using the public key and send its to iCloud. Somehow this indexed with Apples servers.

The owner can then pole the servers using the solution to the hash data found in their keychain and download the location data. Then using the private key also found in Keychain the accessories location can be decrypted locally by the Find My app.

iCloud Keychain data is only stored locally and shared across a single users devices (AppleID). Obviously Keychain passwords/keys/data aren't shared with Family Sharing members so at no point could they get access to the AirTags data nor would they be able to decrypt.

The AirTag is just a device that tells other users to tell you where they are. This so happens to be close to where the AirTag is. Its not an iCloud device and it doesn't communicate with iCloud or Apple. It doesn't know its own location. Its just a little bluetooth beacon that activates a very complex series of events for you to determine its location.

 

[miamius001]

Is Airtag safe to use if I put it on my kids as a bracelet? No bashing, please. I want to know, even if I know that it was meant for things or dogs, just for safety tracking purposes for my kid.

 

[saltcityman11]

Is Airtag safe to use if I put it on my kids as a bracelet? No bashing, please. I want to know, even if I know that it was meant for things or dogs, just for safety tracking purposes for my kid.

You can use Apple AirTag to track your child, but it don't recommend it as an “everyday wear” tracker.