If you suspect you’re being intentionally followed using a hiddenBluetooth tracker, skip straight to the relevant instructions below – you have every right to put a stop to it. At best, a hidden tracker might belong to a parent or partner who’s genuinely concerned about your safety but didn’t think about consent, so you’ll have to talk to them about it. At worst, a tracker may have been planted by a stalker, an abusive partner, or someone planning an assault or robbery.
Thankfully, it’s relatively easy to catch these trackers if you’re aware of the tools available, largely thanks to public criticism forcing companies to take precautions. That said, methods are going to vary based on whether you use aniPhoneorAndroiddevice, and in some cases, you may want to try apps specific to different tracker brands. We’re going to cover four major approaches here, as well as steps you should follow if you discover something.
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How to detect a hidden Bluetooth tracker using an iPhone
Nearly effortless (on your part)
When the threat of hidden Bluetooth trackers became apparent, Apple and Google cooperated on a universal standard for detecting them. That means that your iPhone should automatically detect most or all Bluetooth trackers that are following you and aren’t registered to your Apple Account in theFind Myapp – not just Apple’sAirTags.
So long as you’re runningiOS 17.5or later and both Find My and Bluetooth are switched on, your iPhone should automatically alert you if an unknown tag has been following your movements too closely. If that happens, follow these steps:
Apple’s Find My allows you to view the location of your Apple devices, locate items you’ve attached AirTags to, and track the location of your friends and family.
How to detect a hidden Bluetooth tracker using an Android device
A mirror of the Apple system
Given that Apple and Google share a common standard, it’s not surprising that the system inAndroidis nearly identical to the one in iOS. Use this checklist:
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How to detect a hidden Tile tracker
Covering all the bases
While Tile’s Bluetooth trackers should, in theory, be picked up by iOS or Android without any help, the company does have its own system in case you’re worried that one is slipping through the cracks. Here’s what to do:
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How to detect a hidden Samsung tracker
Working around an awkward app
It’s a good thing Android has built-in countermeasures – while theSmartThingsmobile app is invaluable for some purposes, it’s not very clear how it can detect Bluetooth trackers other than your own. There is an option, though, so long as you own a SamsungSmartTag.
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What should I do if I find a hidden Bluetooth tracker?
Safety is your top priority
If you’ve found an unknown tracker using our instructions, your first task is to identify it. Don’t destroy it unless there’s no alternative – you may need it as evidence later.
iOS and Android, at least, should prompt you to bring your phone near the tracker and/or otherwise trigger its identification info. This will pop up a serial/device ID, as well as a partially obscured version of the owner’s email address – take a screenshot of this. If retrieving info directly is impossible, you may need to identify the company that made the tracker, and look up specific instructions online. Some trackers will also have serial numbers printed on them.
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Note that a tracker’s owner may have marked it as lost and provided contact info. In that case, you should try contacting the person unless there’s no way the tracker’s presence could’ve been an honest mistake.
Be prepared to supply as much evidence as possible.
Assuming the tracker is genuinely suspicious, the next step is to disable itby removing the battery. If you can identify the tracker’s make and model, web instructions should be easy to find. This does risk factory resetting a tracker so that it can’t be directly linked to its owner, but that’s preferable to risking robbery, harassment, injury, or death.
The last major step is to contact local police. Be prepared to supply as much evidence as possible, including photos of the tracker and/or where it was found. Remember, you’re helping to launch an investigation, and possibly even a criminal trial down the road. Even if your actions don’t produce any results, you’ll at least be establishing awareness and credibility.
