(Credit: Google)
Google has updated Android's "unknown tracker alerts" with two new features to boost security against stalking.
The first update lets Android users pause location sharing with a Find My Device-compatible tag. If unknown trackers are detected, users can stop location updates from their phones for up to 24 hours. "This provides an extra layer of privacy and control, allowing you to take a first action quickly while you locate and physically disable the tag," Google says in a blog post.
(Credit: Google)The second update lets Android users find rogue trackers. Upon receiving an unknown tracker alert, users can tap on the "Find Nearby" feature to view the tag's exact location. They can then move closer to the tag and use the "Play sound" option to identify it. Google also recommends moving to a safer location and disabling the tag.
While Bluetooth trackers are helpful in locating objects, they have also been misused. Malicious actors have planted them in vehicles or other belongings to monitor people's movements. Last year, Apple was sued over allegations that AirTags have been used to facilitate murder. Before that, it was sued for facilitating stalking.
Apple has released numerous updates to reduce the misuse of its trackers. It also collaborated with Google to form a unified standard for Bluetooth tracking devices so iOS and Android phones can track them. On next-gen AirTags, Apple is rumored to make the speaker difficult to remove so that stalkers can't use it as easily.