Tracking devices such as Apple AirTag, Tile Tracker, and Samsung Smart Tag can be incredibly useful. Created to help people find their misplaced wallets, keys, and other personal belongings, this technology clearly has incredible benefits. But this tech is also being misused.
Across the globe, criminals have been using trackers to stalk people or steal their belongings. The devices are so small they can easily be placed in your car, pocket, or bag without your knowledge. Once the tracker is planted, the criminal can see exactly where you or your car is. When placed in cars, criminals often wait for the owner to fall asleep or leave the house before stealing it.
No one deserves to feel the distress and fear they’re causing, so we put together this guide to help you protect yourself from tracking devices such as Apple AirTag and disable them if one has been planted on you.
Consider where the tracker may have placed the tracking device
If you think someone may be using an Apple AirTag to illegally track you, think about the circumstances surrounding the time they may have placed a tracker on you or in your belongings.
For example, if you believe the criminal tried to track you from a certain location, like the gym, consider what you had with you at the time. Maybe you drove there, so they may have placed the AirTag in your car. Or maybe you left your gym bag unattended, so it could be in there. Check the items you had with you at the time you suspect someone may have begun illegally tracking you.
Search yourself and your belongings
If you suspect someone may have hidden a tracking device in your belongings, conduct a search. Take a moment to check your bag, car, coat pocket, under your bicycle seat, and anything else you have that a tracking device could be hidden in.
Spend longer checking your car. There are many places a tracking device could be hidden including the hood and windshield areas, in the wheels, the front and rear bumpers, and behind registration plates.
After a certain amount of time, Apple AirTags beep if they have been separated from their paired device, so you can also listen out for this. But it’s important to remember not all tracking devices do this.
What to do if you find a tracking device
Find the AirTag’s serial number
If you find an Apple AirTag tracking device, scan it with your phone. Use the “Find My” app or enable NFC and hold your iPhone or Android phone to the white side of the AirTag and click on the notification that pops up.
From here, you’ll be taken to a web page which will tell you the device’s serial number. This information will help you figure out who was tracking you and can be helpful to law enforcement.
For those with Android phones, you can download the “Tracker Detect” app by Apple to scan for Apple AirTags.
If possible, disable the tracker
Before we explain how to do this, it’s vital we bring your attention to this:
If you believe a current or former partner is tracking you, experts highly recommend you devise a safety plan and contact a specialist service, such as a domestic violence helpline, before disabling the tracking device.
This is how you can disable the tracker:
Apple AirTag – If you couldn’t find the AirTag’s serial number, you can also find it on the battery once you remove it. To do that, twist the back of the Apple AirTag anticlockwise to reveal and then remove the battery. The person tracking you will no longer be able to see your location. They will not be notified that you disabled the AirTag.
Tile – If the tracking device is by Tile, we recommend not attempting to remove the battery. With Tile Pro, the battery may be removed but with every other Tile tracker, removing the battery is not possible. If you try to break the device, the battery may burst and seriously injure you.
Samsung Smart Tag – There will be a notch on the bottom of the Samsung Smart Tag. Insert something flat, like your credit card, into it and pull until the tag opens before removing the battery.
How to prevent someone from tracking you in the future
Invest in an anti-tracking protection device
While there’s no concrete way to ensure no one will ever try to illegally track you again, there’s a simple way to rapidly find any tracking devices in your area without any effort.
SaveMy’s Anti-Tracking Protection Device constantly scans for tracking devices in your area. When it finds one in your area, it’ll send you a push notification on the mobile app, telling you what kind of device it is (Apple AirTag, Samsung Smart Tag, etc.) and how far away it is so you can find and disable or remove it.
Discrete and small enough to fit on your keyring, the device allows you to go about your day, never worrying about whether or not someone is illegally tracking you.
Ready to take back control of your personal security? Buy the SaveMy AI Anti-Tracking Protector today from savemy.ai to protect yourself and your family and never worry about malicious tracking devices again.