Apple's AirTags have a safety mechanism that prevents them from being used to track you, so no one can plant an AirTag in your goods and subsequently track your location without your knowledge.
If an AirTag that does not belong to you is found near you for a lengthy period of time, your Apple device will notify you with the message "AirTag Found Moving With You.
That might suggest you borrowed an item with an AirTag, you're close to a lost item with an AirTag, or someone has hidden an AirTag among your things. This guide explains what you should do if you see this warning:
- When the message "AirTag Found Moving With You" appears, tap on it.
- Tap the Continue button.
- If you don't sure where the AirTag is, hit "Play Sound" to find it.
- If the AirTag is linked to a loaned item, choose the option to deactivate "AirTag Detected" messages for one day. If the item was given to you by a friend or a member of your Family Sharing group, you can turn off Item Safety Alerts completely.
- By pressing on "Learn About This AirTag," you may check its serial number to see if it's been reported as lost and, if so, obtain information for contacting the owner.
- If the AirTag is not in Lost Mode and you don't know where it came from, select "Disable AirTag" and follow the on-screen instructions to prevent it from tracking your movements in the future.
- These instructions will walk you through the steps of removing the battery from the AirTag in order to disable it.
- If you are uneasy, Apple recommends that you contact your local law enforcement for help, since local law enforcement can work with Apple.
According to Apple, if you receive this notice and can't discover the AirTag, it may no longer be with you, but there are privacy measures that may disguise an AirTag if you try to play a sound using an outdated notification. All AirTags have a Bluetooth identification, however this identifier is meant to change on a regular basis. The identification may have changed by the time you see the message, and you won't be able to make it play a sound for location purposes. In this case, Apple suggests searching through your things to ensure the AirTag isn't there, or waiting to see if another warning pops as you travel from location to location throughout the day. You should also be informed that after three days away from its owner, an AirTag will start generating a sound on a regular basis, which is another anti-tracking feature. If you have an AirTag with you, you may constantly hear the AirTag's noise, preventing it from being hidden.
It is important to note that following Apple's instructions to remove the battery from an AirTag to disable it is the only method to get an AirTag to cease monitoring you short of getting rid of the AirTag. Putting the battery back in and resetting the AirTag will allow the owner to continue tracking it.