The latest iOS 15.4 beta includes new features designed to prevent Apple’s AirTags from being used to stalk people, 9to5Mac Reports. Most notably, a new privacy notice during setup warns that using AirTags to track someone without their consent may be a crime, and law enforcement can request details of an unknown AirTags owner. The notice reads: “AirTag is linked to your Apple ID.”
Apple has announced a bunch of new security features for its AirTags in advance this month, after a series of news reports found that they were being used to track individuals without their consent. At the time, Apple didn’t give a specific release date for the new security features, only stating that they would arrive “later this year”.
Along with the new privacy notice, 9to5Mac It notes that iOS 15.4 can now tell when it found an unknown pair of AirPods traveling with you. Previously, AirPods would generate a more generic “Unknown Accessory Alert” notification, which caused confusion for some users, Mac rumors Reports. The option to proactively disable security alerts when a tracker is detected in your vicinity has also been removed, and new tracking notification settings have been added to the Find My app.
Other AirTag anti-stalking features Apple announced earlier this month include alerting users sooner when an unknown AirTag is detected in their presence, and allowing them to use ultra-accurate range tracking on newer iPhones to find an AirTag that isn’t theirs (previously, this It was only available to the owner of AirTags). Apple said the tracking notifications that appear on the iPhone will also be synchronized with the alert noise from the AirTag, to make them more visible.
In addition to new anti-stalking features, the fourth beta of iOS 15.4 also includes a new US Siri voice Axios Notes Less gender specific than current voice assistant options. This joins other new iOS 15.4 features, including Face ID support while wearing masksand Apple New Global Control feature. An exact release date for iOS 15.4 has not yet been announced, but it is expected to be widely released next month.
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