Officially, AirTags are very practical small connected beacons that make it easy to find lost objects. Unofficially, Cupertino stalkers are hijacked by ill-intentioned individuals to commit numerous misdeeds.
In recent months, they have indeed been used by thieves to more easily spot luxury cars by following their owners to their homes. Or to spy on people by tracking them after hiding an AirTag in a car or bag.
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Faced with the extent of the misuse of its beacons, Apple, which announced last February that it took the issue very seriously, indicated that it was working closely with law enforcement to fight against unwanted use of its Bluetooth trackers.
Last Monday, the Cupertino company therefore deployed new firmware for its AirTags, without however specifying in detail the new features. Apple has nevertheless just published in its pages Support a note that allows us to learn a little more about the content of this update. This new firmware, stamped 1.0.301, allows “ adjust the sound of unwanted tracking to find an unknown AirTag more easily “.
It therefore corresponds to one of the proposals that Apple had issued last February to strengthen the security of its beacons: the modulation of the tone of the AirTag.
“AirTag Tone Modulation: Currently, iOS users receiving a tracking alert can make the unknown AirTag play a sound to locate it. We are going to modulate the tone to increase the volume and make it easier to find. » suggested Apple in its improvement proposals.
This new firmware, which has been in the process of being deployed for a few days, will be implemented on all AirTags gradually. The end of the deployment which would be scheduled for May 13th.
Source : MacRumors