Today, Apple and Google are partnering to address unwanted tracking through Bluetooth tracker devices and to alert users across platforms like iOS and Android when they are being tracked. The companies have proposed an industry specification to combat unwanted tracking, with support from manufacturers like Samsung, Chipolo, eufy Security, and Pebblebee. This demonstrates their commitment to ensuring user safety and privacy. Ron Huang, Apple’s vice president of Sensing and Connectivity, emphasized the importance of collaboration with Google, stating that it is a critical step forward in combatting unwanted tracking across both iOS and Android platforms.
Feedback from manufacturers and advocacy groups has been incorporated into the development of the specification. Erica Olsen, Senior Director of the Safety Net Project of the National Network to End Domestic Violence, praised the collaboration and resulting standards as a significant step forward in protecting survivors and all people from the misuse of Bluetooth tracking devices.
The specification has been submitted as an Internet-Draft via the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), and the partnership is inviting other companies to join the initiative, provide comments or review the draft over the next three months. After this period, Apple and Google will release a production implementation of the specification to address unwanted tracking, which will arrive on both iOS and Android platforms by the end of 2023
