Apple and Google have teamed up to develop a standard for detecting unwanted location trackers in an effort to prevent the devices from being used for stalking.

Apple’s AirTags were launched in 2019 as a way to track devices and bags should they get lost or stolen. Google recently announced it was launching its own network with a similar function that would work across Android phones.

But Apple’s implementation of the technology quickly raised several privacy issues from the ability to track a user’s exact location without them being notified. On several occasions AirTags were used for stalking purposes, prompting criticism that the company had not done its due diligence before rolling out the new network.

The two firms have now developed a standard that will make it possible to alert users across both iOS and Android if such a device is unknowingly being used to track them. Apple has already begun rolling this function out with iOS 17.5, while Google is launching this capability on Android...