Apple will release Android app later this year to detect AirTags

Apple is working on an Android app that will allow users to see if there is an AirTag nearby. This functionality is already present on iPhones and that should, among other things, prevent stalking. It is not known whether there will be further AirTag support on Android.

Apple tells CNET that the Android app will be released later this year. The app should enable users to detect any unwanted AirTags and other Find My network accessories. It appears that Apple is doing this for privacy reasons and there is no indication that further support for the actual use of AirTags is coming to Android.

The news about the Android app coincides with another change being made to combat stalking with AirTags. The accessories will receive an update that will cause the AirTags to make a sound at any time between 8 and 24 hours, if they are not within a certain distance of the owner’s device.

This measure should make the AirTags less suitable for tracking people. Before the update, the AirTags only make a sound after three days of absence from the owner. Apple released the AirTags in early May. The accessories are intended, for example, to link to a bunch of keys and then be able to find it via the Find My app.