With iOS 17, currently in beta testing open to all, Apple has implemented the possibility of share an AirTag with other people as wellup to a maximum of 5who will then be able to take it with them without receiving nuisances tracking notifications.
Currently, an AirTag can be associated with only one person’s Apple ID but it could happen to connect it to objects that are not strictly personal, also used by other family members, such as car keys, a bicycle, a bag or other.
Obviously, when another family member walks away with the AirTag, after some time they will start receiving unwanted tracking notifications. At the same time, “walk away” notifications will also start coming to the person who set it up. In this case, if the AirTag was “borrowed” from a member of the Family Sharing group, you can still turn off alerts for one day or indefinitely.
With iOS 17, however, you can do more, not only extending the sharing also to people outside the family unit but also offering the possibility of Track your location using the Where’s app.
“Each AirTag can be shared with up to five other people, so your friends and family can also locate items in Find My. Anyone in the group can see where the shared AirTag is, play a sound and use Pinpoint to locate its exact spot when it’s nearby. Sharing also works with all other accessories in the Find My network.”
Once the iPhone, iPad or Mac operating system has been updated to the next “major releases”, there will be a new item in the Find My app, “Share this AirTag”, which will allow you to add other people both by phone number and by e-mail.
Before choosing the name (or names) from the address book, a splash screen warns that other people will be able to locate the AirTag through the Find My app and that anyone who shares the AirTag will not receive tracking notifications when they are nearby. The people chosen by the owner of the AirTag, for greater security, they will receive a notification in which you will be asked whether or not to accept the sharing.
Of course, this change, while it was eagerly awaited by most AirTag users, may not be particularly welcome by those concerned about unwanted tracking. Trackers are definitely a fundamentally dangerous technology when used the wrong way.
Apple, since its launch, has always tried to avoid the improper use of AirTags by also making a series of updates as well as collaborating with law enforcement agencies. Furthermore, in 2021 it developed the Tracker Detect app to allow the detection of AirTags even to those who have an Android smartphone.
The advice, in general, is definitely to pay close attention when receiving messages where you have been invited to share an AirTag, do not accept it superficially. From the moment you accept, in fact, it could potentially start tracking via a hidden AirTag.
Unwanted tracking is certainly a very important topic, which should not be underestimated. For this very reason, in early May, Apple and Google announced a joint industry specification proposal to combat the misuse of tracking devices. This initiative, the first of its kind in this industry, will enable devices to support unauthorized location detection and alerts on both iOS and Android platforms.
