In the months since went on sale final spring, there have been tales of unhealthy actors utilizing the misplaced merchandise tracker to stalk folks. One of essentially the most publicized incidents occured at first of the yr when mannequin mentioned somebody had positioned an AirTag in her coat to trace her actions for a number of hours. In an replace , Apple mentioned it will take extra steps to stop incidents like that from taking place.

In the speedy future, the corporate will replace the gadget so as to add a brand new warning that each consumer will see after they arrange their AirTag for the primary time. The notification will remind you that monitoring somebody with out their consent is a criminal offense in lots of locations and that police can request your data from Apple in the event you misuse the gadget. To that time, the corporate notes it has labored with legislation enforcement on a number of events prior to now to hint misused AirTags again to their unique house owners.

At the identical time, the corporate will replace its , and , in addition to that may hook up with its Find My community, so that you simply don’t get an “Unknown Accessory Detected” alert in your iPhone. Instead, iOS will extra clearly point out you’re touring with a pair of another person’s AirPods to scale back confusion.

Apple has additionally up to date a assist doc on its web site devoted to to incorporate extra on what to do in the event you consider somebody is utilizing its units to stalk you. The firm has moreover added hyperlinks to organizations just like the to assist those that consider their security could also be in danger.

Later within the yr, the corporate will replace the iPhone 11, iPhone 12 and iPhone 13 so as to add a precision discovering characteristic that can permit people with these units to search out their strategy to an unknown AirTag. The instrument will show the path of and distance to an undesirable AirTag. Apple says it additionally plans to replace its undesirable monitoring alerts to inform folks earlier that somebody could also be stalking. Lastly, the corporate will tweak the sound an AirTag emits to make sure it’s as loud as attainable and add a backup visible provide you with a warning’ll see in your iPhone.

“AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or another person’s property, and we condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products,” the corporate mentioned. “We design our products to provide a great experience, but also with safety and privacy in mind. Across Apple’s hardware, software, and services teams, we’re committed to listening to feedback.”