iPhone users are receiving fake stalking alerts from unknown AirTags

In its efforts to prevent the use of AirTags for unwanted tracking, Apple has been putting in more effort to develop its own system over the past few days To be safer for the iPhone and Android user, Apple reduced the amount of time before a missing AirTag sounds an audible alert, released an Android app to detect any AirTags, added new warnings, and improved notifications in iOS 15.4, and most recently, made the warning sound louder and clearer. But it was reported recently that there is a big problem with AirTags devices, which is that some users have received fake alerts that they are being stalked, so what is the cause of this problem? And what is the solution? And what was Apple's response?

A new report from the Wall Street Journal revealed that some users are receiving fake alerts that they are being stalked by AirTag, and stated that these false alerts generally occur in the middle of the night and have begun to appear in recent weeks.

When someone receives an unknown AirTag alert, they should see an accompanying map showing where and for how long the AirTag was detected, but the user only sees a series of straight red lines radiating from their current location, these lines are meaningless, unusual, and seem to indicate an error in the system.

Several users on Reddit and other social media reported seeing similar fake alerts fired by their AirPods, an issue that Apple addressed in the latest update.

And in a Wall Street Journal report, users say the alerts put them on stress, especially when they can't find any AirTag to track them. In one case, a user said that he was unable to force the anonymous AirTag to play a sound, and that the FindMy app was saying that AirTag could not be accessed.

After multiple reports of spam stalking earlier this year, Apple said in February that it plans to make anonymous AirTags alert people sooner, emphasizing making the sound louder, andApple has already released these updates.

During a recent investigation by The Verge, experts said: “The abundance of false alerts may be a serious problem, as users may neglect AirTag alerts intended to keep them safe, and there may be real threats that they may ignore and this may put them at risk.”

They also emphasized that there are aspects of AirTag's design that need to be addressed, other than other urgently needed updates that fix such issues.

How unknown AirTag alerts are supposed to work

You are less likely to receive an Unknown AirTag alert when you are at home, the alerts will only work if you are on the move, and since it is possible to be surrounded by other people's AirTags around you, Apple has set certain conditions on Unknown AirTag alerts to prevent alerts Pseudomembranes that may occur several times a day:

◉ AirTag must be away from its owner's iPhone or iPad.

◉ AirTag must move with you, and if you encounter a stray AirTag that has been separated from its owner, you will not receive an alert, AirTag does not stalk you unless it continues to appear in the same places you are, even text in the alert says, “AirTag was found moving with you And if the AirTag is persistent, it most likely just got lost from its owner, so there is no need to alert you to its presence.

◉ Your AirTag should stay with you for some time There are scenarios in which an AirTag that is not yours may move with you without necessarily tracking you, for example, if someone forgets their bag or jacket in public transit, to avoid false alarms, Apple will not notify you if it finds an AirTag She moves with you unless she's been with you for a while or with you when you go back to a place you frequent, like your home, work, or other place.

◉ The alert should include a realistic map of where you've been, and since you won't receive the alert until the AirTag has moved with you for a while, the notification will include a map showing the route you took with the AirTag.

Apple doesn't say how long this happens, but according to reports, it's likely to be in a few hours instead of a few minutes. It is possible that you will not receive an unknown AirTag warning until you return home. And because Apple considers your home address an important location, if an AirTag is following you, you'll receive this alert within minutes of arriving at your home, not several hours later.

It's also important to remember that you and AirTag have to move around together, and if you're sitting at home and your neighbor is walking outside with an AirTag, it won't trigger an alert because AirTag isn't being used to track you. And if someone implants an AirTag to track you, it's not a threat until you move them elsewhere.

Apple's response and possible repair?

An Apple spokesperson said: It is possible that these alerts are due to a temporary problem with location services, and suggests to solve this problem go to Settings > Privacy > Site services Turn it off and on again while Wi-Fi is enabled. He also said that it is possible for AirTags owned by other people in the vicinity to inadvertently trigger spam alerts in "more densely populated areas".

And if this is a system bug caused by something running in the background or an issue with the latest iOS 15 versions, Apple will work to fix it as soon as possible.

Source:

the verge