Citing the potential privacy concerns of Bluetooth-based location tracking devices such as Tile and AirTag, both Apple and Tile recently released a solution to curb this. Following this, Google is now developing a built-in tracker detection feature for Android. The feature will be baked into Android and would allow users to detect and locate unfamiliar trackers around them. Check out the details to find out more.
According to a recent APK teardown by 9to5Google, strings of code have been spotted in its Play services platform with references to the Bluetooth-tracker detection feature. The latest version (v22.12.13) contains strings for “Unfamiliar device alerts” and “Unfamiliar Tag Detected Notification” that hint at the feature.
That said, a built-in tracker detection feature in Android would be a welcome change for users as Apple’s Tracker Detect app only works when it is opened by users. The app does not provide automatic detection and notification features, hence, the feature mostly goes unused.
