Apple will update AirTags to include new privacy warnings and smarter Find My Tracking.

Apple has added new privacy warnings and sound alerts to its AirTags sensors. This is the latest effort to improve security and privacy on the devices and the Find My network.

AirTags users will be notified via software updates that they can use the technology to track their people without their consent. This is a crime in many parts of the world. It also mentions that Apple created AirTags to allow law enforcement to request information about the owner.

Apple stated that they design their products to offer a great user experience but also keep privacy and security in mind in a statement that was released Thursday. We are committed to listening and innovating to continue to protect against unwanted tracking.

Apple’s latest efforts to improve security and privacy around its devices are represented by its adjustments to the AirTags and Find My technology. Apple’s AirTags were first launched last year at $29 per piece or $99 for a four-pack. Apple pitched the half-dollar-coin-sized devices as an easy way to find lost keys, book bags, and other objects using Apple’s Find My network technology. Apple also praised AirTags’ security. Each device uses a constantly changing identifying code, encrypted communication to prevent hacking and unintended trackers.

Privacy and victim’s rights advocates are concerned that AirTags could be and are being misused, despite Apple’s best efforts. Critics pointed out that Apple’s Find My network, which has more than 1,000,000 active iPhones and other devices that silently share the location of nearby AirTags or Find My devices, has a greater reach than any other device tracking system.

Erica Olsen, Director of the Safety Net Project at National Network to End Domestic Violence said in a statement that Apple’s alert system notifying potential victims of unwanted tracking has “helped shine a spotlight on a problem which existed long before AirTags were invented.” We hope that others will follow their example.”

Apple updated its AirTags in June with new software. This was done to prevent abuse. It changes the time that an AirTag informs a nonowner about its presence. Apple has shortened this period from the original three days to 8 hours.

The company released its Tracker-Detect app for Android phones in December. This allows people to actively search for nearby Find My devices that were separated from their owners for less than 10 minutes.

Apple claims that it will be easier to locate unwanted AirTags with its precision-finding technology. This technology displays a compass-like line on the phone screen when you search for the device. Apple stated that it will adjust the AirTags’ “tone sequence” to warn people about unwanted tracking. The device will be more easily found if it has louder tones.

Apple is also working to address “unknown accessory” warnings that occasionally appear on phones. Apple stated that it discovered that AirPods can sometimes cause these warnings. To help identify what might be near them, they will now be identified as AirPods and not an “unknown accessory”.

Apple has updated its online support documentation in an effort to make it easier for people to control their location settings and to understand the various alerts they may receive from AirTags or other Find My Devices. This document also contains links to victim organizations in Australia, the UK, and the US.