Latest iOS beta permits you to manually scan for sneaky AirTags

Among the options added to iOS 15.2’s second beta is a brand new possibility within the Find My app that permits you to manually scan your environment for AirTags and different Find My-enabled units that somebody may be utilizing to trace you. The function, which is detailed by MacRumors, is accessible by way of a brand new “Items That Can Track Me” possibility listed within the Find My app’s Items menu.

Hit the hyperlink, and the app will report if there are any units close by that aren’t owned by you and which have Apple’s monitoring know-how enabled. The app can then give directions on how you can disable the gadget. Alternatively, there’s a “Help Return Lost Items” possibility for objects which have ended up in your neighborhood unintentionally relatively than maliciously, which replaces the earlier “Identify Found Item” textual content.

AirTags are designed to allow you to preserve observe of things like keys or a motorbike in case they’re misplaced or stolen. The new beta function is Apple’s newest try and assuage critics who quickly pointed out that the tiny AirTags are additionally fairly good at monitoring individuals and recognized some shortcomings within the security options Apple included at launch.

In June, Apple introduced an preliminary sequence of measures to handle these issues. So relatively than ready till an AirTag had spent three complete days away from its proprietor earlier than emitting a warning chime, AirTags now accomplish that after simply eight to 24 hours. Apple additionally introduced that it’s constructing an app for Android customers to alert them to the presence of undesirable trackers and stated that it might be launching later this yr.

Other tweaks which have arrived with iOS 15.2’s second beta embody the introduction of the Legacy Contact function Apple introduced at WWDC 2021, which lets family members entry your account and private data within the occasion of your demise. The Communication Safety feature for the Messages app is also returning, though it now gained’t notify a mother or father when nudity is detected in a picture. It’ll simply blur the picture and supply security sources. There’s additionally a brand new Hide My Email possibility within the mail app, and the interface of the Apple TV app has been tweaked.

As with each iOS beta, nonetheless, there’s all the time that probability that anybody of those options could also be tweaked or eliminated completely earlier than its secure launch.