How to Find and Disable an Apple AirTag

Apple has improved our lives in thousands of ways via their iPhones, putting miniature computers in the palms of our hands.  Now we can track health info, pay bills, even track lost objects.

The latter is what’s behind AirTags, those small Bluetooth- and GPS-enabled devices that help you find frequently misplaced items like keys and wallets. Unfortunately, this new tracking technology can be dangerous in the wrong hands. This year, a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model reported a stranger tried to track her location using one of Apple’s AirTags.

While these incidents are rare, devices like AirTags make them easier than ever.

“With tracking technology of the Apple AirTag and its competitors, the technology is smaller than your hand, relatively low cost, and fairly easy to use,” says Theresa Payton, CEO of cybersecurity company Fortalice Solutions. Payton says her company’s clients have found AirTags and other tracking devices inside their purses, jackets, work bags, computers, bikes, and even car glove compartments.

Here’s the good news: Anyone can spot and prevent a potential AirTag tracking situation. We asked cybersecurity experts to share the signs you’re being tracked, and how to find and disable AirTags so you can move through the day with peace of mind.

What is an Apple AirTag?

AirTags are circular devices, slightly larger than a quarter, that connect to Apple’s Find My app via Bluetooth. Then they share their location via Apple’s network of devices. When attached to a frequently misplaced item, an AirTag can make a sound or share its GPS signal to help you find it.

Attach one to your key chain, and the next time you lose your keys (it’s bound to happen), you can avoid tearing your house apart looking for them.

How can someone use AirTags to track you?

Imagine this: You’re at a restaurant, purse hanging from the back of your chair. You’re focused on your dinner companions. You’re not even looking when a stranger brushes past and drops an AirTag into your purse.

Or maybe you’re walking home and a stranger bumps into you, covertly dropping an AirTag into your pocket. Or maybe you’re at work when a criminal places an AirTag on your car to track it and later steal it.

Those are just a few scenarios that illustrate how some bad apples can twist the good intentions of a product created to make life better. It’s similar to how WiFi makes Internet use easier, but connecting to public WiFi can put your security at risk.

While competing products like Tile offer a similar tracking service, “an AirTag is far more potentially dangerous,” according to Thomas Reed, a Mac and malware expert at Malwarebytes. While a Tile can be located only when the owner’s app is open and nearby, Reed says “an AirTag can be tracked by coming into range of any iPhone, which essentially means that an AirTag will probably be trackable most of the time.”

How to know if you’re being tracked

This isn’t the first time Apple products have faced security and privacy issues. The company recently came under fire for a new feature that could scan your iPhone photos. But this time, the safety risk feels especially serious, particularly to women living, driving or walking home alone.

As warnings about the dangers of tracking devices grow, Apple has taken steps to protect users from unwanted tracking. Apple devices with iOS 14.5 or newer will send alerts through the Find My app if they recognize an AirTag moving with the user.

“If you receive an ‘AirTag Found Moving with You’ alert and you don’t own an AirTag, that’s a sign you are possibly being tracked,” Payton says.

For Android users, Apple released a Tracker Detect app that sends notifications if it detects an AirTag nearby.

How to prevent being tracked by Apple AirTags

There are two important ways to protect yourself from being secretly tracked with an AirTag, according to Payton. First, periodically search your personal items — keys, purses, jacket pockets and work bags — for unfamiliar devices or attachments. “If you see something that you do not remember adding yourself, this could be a tracker,” Payton says.

She also suggests getting a Bluetooth tracking app or scanner to check your surroundings for unknown devices. Although these tools don’t reveal who owns the technology, an unknown device in your house or on a personal item is a red flag and should be investigated further, Payton says.

Why your should get the serial number of an AirTag

If you discover an AirTag tracking your location, find the device’s serial number. Sharing an AirTag’s serial number with law enforcement can help them track down the tag’s owner, Payton says. There are a few ways to find the serial number of an AirTag.

Using the Find My app on an iPhone:

1. Open the Find My app.
2. Hold the AirTag near your iPhone.
3. Tap the AirTag notification when it appears.
4. The serial number will be listed at the top of the screen, along with the last four digits of the owner’s phone number.

Touching an iPhone to an AirTag:

1. Tap and hold the top of your iPhone to the white side of the AirTag.
2. Tap the notification that appears on the screen. It will open a web page.
3. The serial number will appear on the web page.

Holding an Android phone near an AirTag:

1. Place your Android phone near an AirTag.
2. Tap the pop-up window to open a web page.
3. The serial number will appear on the web page.

Unscrewing the AirTag:

1. Press down on the back of the AirTag.
2. Twist counterclockwise to remove the cover.
3. Remove the battery.
4. The serial number will be printed on the AirTag, below the battery.

How to disable an AirTag

Want to stop an AirTag from tracking your location? Disable it. Here’s how:

1. Press down on the back of the device.
2. Twist counterclockwise to open it.
3. Remove the battery.

Be aware that disabling an AirTag will send an alert to the tracker’s owner, Payton says. If you have safety concerns after finding an unfamiliar AirTag, she recommends filing a police report, as well as creating and sharing an emergency plan with people you trust.

Sources:

• Apple: “What to do if you get an alert that an AirTag or Find My network accessory is with you.”
• Apple: “How to find the serial number of an AirTag.”

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