Apple cooperated with Google last year and announced that it would develop new industry standards to address the growing concerns about tracker privacy issues. Previously, many people were worried that trackers (such as AirTags) would be used for malicious tracking. It is reported that Apple plans to add this new feature to improve user privacy protection in the upcoming iOS 17.5 system.
Technology website 9to5Mac discovered clues of this anti-tracking feature in the internal code of the iOS 17.5 developer beta released by Apple today. New code in the Find My app shows that iOS will be able to identify trackers that are not certified by Apple or not part of the Find My network and help users disable them. One piece of code reads: “This item is not certified by Apple’s Find Network. You can disable this item to prevent it from sharing location information with the owner. See instructions on the item manufacturer’s website for how to do this. “
Although this feature is not currently open to testers, it is likely to be launched with the official version of iOS 17.5, and companies such as Samsung, Tile, Chipolo, Eufy, and Pebblebee have expressed interest in supporting this technology.
It is noted that Apple and Google have previously stated that they will jointly build a new universal system for iOS and Android systems to detect and alert users about unknown trackers. Currently, iOS is able to detect unknown Bluetooth location trackers, but only on devices that are part of the Find Network. Apple has also launched an app for Android to detect AirTags.
Judging from the information released so far, iOS 17.5 Beta 1 does not seem to bring any major changes, only some minor adjustments. iOS 17.5 is expected to be officially released to the public next month, amid rumors that Apple will release new iPads and accessories in May.
