'Undetectag' turns AirTags into tracking tags to prevent thieves

Apple's AirTag is a tracker that can help you find your lost valuables by showing their location on a map, showing the direction on your smartphone when you get close, and making a sound. However, because of the way AirTags work, they can be detected immediately by anyone other than the owner, so even if an AirTag is attached to a stolen item, it is quickly removed and cannot be tracked. ' Undetectag ' is a device with a unique design that allows the AirTag to function without alerting the thief to its presence.

Undetectable
https://undetectag.com/

AirTag is a lost item tracker from Apple that was released in 2021. It is a device that can track location information using the 'Find My ' network built on over 1 billion iPhones operating around the world, rather than tracking by GPS. AirTag is equipped with many features to protect user privacy and prevent abuse such as stalking.

What are the stalker prevention and privacy protection features installed in Apple's lost property tracker 'AirTag'? - GIGAZINE

AirTags are tracked by the 'Find My' network of iPhone, iPad, and Mac devices around the world, allowing for extremely detailed location information. To prevent this tracking capability from being misused for stalking or other purposes, if an AirTag that does not belong to an iOS device user is found in their luggage, a notification will appear on the iOS device saying ' An AirTag has been found near you .' This allows users to notice if an AirTag they do not recognize has been found in their luggage, but even if an AirTag is installed in a bag or car that has been maliciously 'stolen,' the thief will be able to notice the AirTag and dispose of it.

'Undetectag' is a device that temporarily turns off the detection function of such an AirTag and can track the AirTag installed in a stolen item without being immediately noticed.

Undetectag is a device slightly smaller than AirTag, shown in the upper left of the image below.

As shown in the image below, remove the battery cover from the AirTag and replace it with the Undetectag disc.

Undetectag turns off the AirTag for four hours and then turns it on for one hour. If a thief steals a bag or car, the AirTag will be taken away by an unidentified thief, so the anti-abuse function will work and the AirTag will warn the thief. However, with Undetectag, the AirTag will only be turned on for one hour four hours after it is lost, so it cannot be detected when it is off and can be tracked without the thief knowing.

According to a comment made by pompidoo, the creator of Undetectag, on Hacker News, the timing of '4 hours off, then 1 hour on' cannot be changed, so it can only be tracked '4 hours after it was lost.' Also, on the purchase page, it is stated that 'Undetectag is guaranteed to work with the latest version of AirTag (at the time of release), but if an event beyond our control occurs, such as Apple updating the firmware in the future causing it to stop working, refunds are not available.' Please note that.

On Hacker News, some people praised the idea , saying, 'It's a really cool idea. It's also great that it's compact,' while others pointed out that, 'If an item is stolen while an AirTag is on, the thief could find and disable the AirTag.' As an alternative idea , some people suggested that if two AirTags were alternately turned on and off at intervals short enough to slip through Apple's detection radar, but long enough to be detected as a location, they could transmit location information while avoiding detection.

Undetectag can be purchased from its official website or through the global commerce platform Shopify.