Apple and Google announced on Monday that iPhone and Android will start alerting people when it's probably the case that some unknown Bluetooth device is tracking them. The two companies have developed what's being called an industry standard called "Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers." Starting Monday, Apple is introducing the capability in iOS 17.5 and Google is launching it on Android 6.0+ devices.

Today, when a Bluetooth tracking device is detected moving with a user who is on a different platform that is not known to the device, the user will receive an alert saying "Find [Item] Moving With You".

The new measure comes after cases involving stalking with Bluetooth tracking devices like Apple's AirTags. Last May, Apple and Google announced that they would co-chair an industrywide effort to develop a way to alert users if unwanted tracking was happening through Bluetooth devices.
When Apple launched the AirTags, it fast gained acceptance as a method to track places of everyday objects like keys. But the trackers also landed in the pockets of malicious actors who track people. To respond, Apple introduced the "Tracker Detect" Android app in 2021 for people outside the Apple ecosystem who do not know what an AirTag is nearby. The standard unveiled on Monday will use the same OS-level solution to the problem of unwanted Bluetooth trackers. Apple says it has partnered with Bluetooth tag companies including Chipolo, eufy, Jio, Motorola, and Pebblebee which will future tags be compatible with the new industry standard.

Apple and Google both say they will continue working on their end with the Internet Engineering Task Force, a standards organization for the internet via its Detecting Unwanted Location Trackers working group in developing the official standard for this technology.