This has been known for some time Apple and Google have been working on a security system prevent geo-located beacons from being used as a tool for espionage and harassment. In fact, the search engine already completed its own duties last year, as it considered it necessary to have this type of protection before offering the expected “Find My Device” network mode, which was already announced by Google last year. , but in test mode and on a very limited scale, it only began to be deployed last month.

The reasons why Apple has been slower to move in this regard, we will never knowbut it seems likely that if they had reacted with the same speed as Google, they would probably have avoided legal action as a result of the complaint, which alleges that those from Cupertino ignored warnings that their AirTag could be used for malicious purposes, as has already been proven before.

Yes, we recently had very good news about it and it leaked that with iOS 17.5 it will debut, finally for iPhone, technology to detect suspicious geolocation beacons. That, coupled with the fact that Google has finally started rolling out Network Mode, makes us think it’s all set, although there’s been no official confirmation from either party until now.

I’m talking in the past tense because luckily that’s no longer the case and the search engine has confirmed it Google and Apple now offer support for unwanted tracking notifications on Android and iOS. An announcement that actually comes with the deployment of iOS 17.5. So if we go through the notes of this update, which also adds a new lock screen dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community, we can read the following:

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Notification tracking

Cross-platform tracking detection alerts you when a compatible Bluetooth tracking device that isn’t yours is moving around with you, regardless of the operating system it’s paired with.

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The key, the reason why Apple and Google work together, is right at the end of the mentioned text and is that the system must guarantee security independent of the platform used by the user and the platform used with the beacon used to carry out unauthorized surveillance. And of course, that’s also why Google didn’t want to release the Find My Device network mode until now. We therefore hope that its deployment is approaching.