You can identify, find, and remove trackers that have been placed near you or in your belongings without your knowledge or consent with the help of unknown tracker alerts.
Important:This feature is only available for devices with Android 6 and up.
What are trackers?
A tracker, also called a tag, is a small bluetooth device you can attach to items like keys or a backpack. This can help you find your items when they’re lost. Some headphones and earbuds also have tracking capabilities.
In some cases, these devices may be misused to track other people without their consent.
What does an unknown tracker alert mean?
When someone else’s tracker device is separated from their owner and is far away from their Android phone, an unknown tracker alert is sent. The notification alerts you to the tracker and tells you how to find it and what to do next.
Tips:
- You may get these notifications if you borrow an item or if you’re traveling with someone who has a tracker with them.
- You can’t stop a tracker’s ability to share its location when you turn on airplane mode or turn off Bluetooth or location services on your phone. Learn how to turn off a tracker .
What to do if you get an unknown tracker alert
Important:If you turn off Bluetooth or location services, or turn on Airplane Mode, your phone won’t prevent the owner of the tracker or device from finding the location of the tracker. To turn off the tracker, you need to follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer.
- On your device, tap the tracker notification to open a map.
- Find where the tracker has been detected traveling with you.
- Tap Play sound, which causes the tracker to make a sound.
- You won’t notify the owner if you play the sound.
- To locate the tracker, follow the sound.
- If you find the tracker, tap Next steps.
- After you find the tracker, you can:
- Go to a safe public location and contact law enforcement or a trusted contact if you feel that your safety is at risk.
- Get and save the tracker’s info.
- Turn off the tracker. Learn how to turn off a tracker .
If you get a notification on your Android phone or tablet, it means a tracker that’s not yours might be moving with you.
It’s possible that the tracker is attached or in something you’re borrowing, such as keys or a backpack.
To learn more about trackers, such as the type of device and name of the manufacturer, tap the notification.
When you tap the notification, it’ll show you a map where the tracker was detected moving with you.
- You won't find where the owner of the tracker checked its location.
If you get an alert, to help you locate the tracker and make it play a sound, tap Play sound.
If you still can’t find the device, to make the tracker play a sound again, tap Play soundagain.
Tip:You won’t notify the owner of the tracker if you’ve played the sound.
If you can’t play or hear the sound, try to move around and tap Play sound. It’s possible that the tracker is no longer in range or the device ID has changed.
If you can't play a sound but believe the tracker is close, look through your belongings. Search yourself and check your surroundings for anywhere the device may be hidden. This could be in places you don’t commonly look like in a pocket, your bag, or your car.
You can connect your Android device to the unknown tracker through Bluetooth to guide you to its location:
- On your device, tap the tracker notification to open a map.
- Tap Next steps Find nearby.
- This is only available with Find Hub network compatible trackers.
- The shape fills as you get closer to the tracker and also displays a text that describes the status of the connection.
- To make the tracker play a sound again, tap Play sound.
If you can't find the device and feel unsafe, go to a public location and contact law enforcement or a trusted contact.
You can take screenshots of the unknown tracker alert and the map of the tracker locations for later reference.
To get the list of the actions that you can do, tap Next steps.
There may be different instructions you can do for different trackers, including information to help report and turn off the device.
Once you find the tracker, you can save its information.
- You can take a screenshot of the unknown tracker alert and map of the tracker locations.
- For Airtags, to learn more information about the tracker, bring the tracker near the back side of your phone.
- You may have to wait for the tracker information to come up on your screen.
- Some devices share their serial number or additional information about the owner of the device. Other devices also have the serial number printed physically on the Bluetooth tracker.
- You may want to take a screenshot of the serial number or owner information.
- To learn more about Find Hub network compatible tracker, follow the on-screen instructions.
- When all the identification instructions are completed, you can find the device identifier and hidden email address of the owner.
- You may have to take a screenshot of the device identifier or owner information.
- If you can’t find the instructions to reveal owner information, follow the identification instructions on the manufacturer's website.
Important:
- Some trackers, if turned off, may be factory reset and no longer be linked to their original owner. Law enforcement can’t get additional information about these trackers, like who its owner is.
- Turning off the device will stop the owner from receiving future location updates from the tracker, but they may still be able to check the last location from when the tracker was still on.
- Depending on your situation, you can turn the tracker off to stop any tracking or keep it turned on if you’re concerned that turning it off could be unsafe.
- To turn off the tracker, find the product manufacturer below for the instructions:
| Product | Where to get help |
| Apple Airtag | Disable an AirTag |
| Chipolo CARD | Disable a Chipolo CARD |
| Chipolo ONE | Disable a Chipolo ONE |
| Motorola moto tag | Disable a Motorola moto tag |
| Pebblebee Card | Disable a Pebblebee Card |
| Pebblebee Clip | Disable a Pebblebee Clip |
| Pebblebee Tag | Disable a Pebblebee Tag |
- You can pause location updates on your phone for up to 24 hours. This means location information from your phone won't be used to locate the tracker while paused. To temporarily pause location updates, tap I can’t find the tracker Temporarily pause.
- This is only available with Find Hub network compatible trackers.
- You can work with your local law enforcement to learn more about the tracker you've found. To support an investigation, law enforcement may ask you for the tracker, the device’s identifier ID, or other information.
If you can’t find the device, it may still be near you or in your belongings.
- If it’s safe to do so, retrace your steps and check the belongings you had on the route shown on the alert, like in your car or backpack.
- Run a manual scan to find trackers nearby .
- If the tracker is still detected with you the next day, you may receive another alert.
If you want to find alerts that you’ve previously received:
- Open your device’s Settings app.
- Tap Safety & Emergency Unknown tracker alerts.
- In the middle of the screen, tap the tracker alerts button.
Tip:Alerts are deleted after 48 hours.
Check for trackers near you
Run a manual scanYou can check for trackers that are separated from their owners and currently near you at any time.
- Open your device’s Settings app.
- Tap Safety & Emergency Unknown tracker alerts Scan now.
- Your device takes about 10 seconds to complete a manual scan.
You can detect trackers currently near to you and separated from their owner’s device with a manual scan. It’s possible that the trackers found in a manual scan are simply misplaced or temporarily separated from their owner’s device.
If you’ve turned on Unknown tracker alerts, you’ll get a notification automatically if the system determines that an unknown tracker is moving with you.
Trackers that appear in a manual scan are currently near you, but may not have been traveling with you.
If you have alerts turned on, you’ll be notified automatically if the system determines that an unknown tracker is moving with you.
How your phone got the update
To keep your Android phone safe, it regularly gets updates in the background. During an update, Play Services adds the unknown tracker alert system and you automatically get notifications about an unknown tracker.
If you would like to opt out, you can do so any time.
Turn off unknown tracker alertsImportant:If you turn off unknown tracker alerts, previous alerts will be cleared, and any information about other unknown trackers will be deleted. You can’t recover this data.
If your Android device is Android 12(S) and up:
- Open your device’s Settings app.
- Tap Safety & emergency Unknown tracker alerts.
- Turn off Allow alerts.
If your Android device is Android 11(R) and lower:
- Open your device’s Settings app.
- Tap Google Personal & device safety Unknown tracker alerts.
- Turn off alerts.
Your data & privacy
What data we useTo determine how an unknown tracker has traveled with you, unknown tracker alerts use your location information and timestamps of when your device detected the tracker, and a device ID for the tracker. When you receive an unknown tracker alert, you’ll also find the places that the tracker was detected with you on a map.
This information is processed and temporarily stored in an encrypted format, never leaving your device, to determine if there’s a tracker following you and displaying it to you on a map. It’s not shared with Google or other users.
To get automated tracker alerts for unknown trackers traveling with you, turn on your Location.
If you turn off your Location, to find trackers that are near to you at the moment, you can still use the manual scanning feature. Learn how to run a manual scan .
- On Android 11 and up:Manual scanning doesn’t require the phone's Location setting to be on. Check and update your Android version .
- On Android 10 and lower:Manual scanning uses your phone’s Location setting and Bluetooth. There are several ways you can control which apps and services can access your location .
Troubleshoot problems with unknown trackers
Why can’t I ring a tracker after I get an alert?You can’t ring the tracker if:
- The tracker owner is nearby.
- The tracker was very recently separated from its owner.
- The tracker is out of your Android phone’s Bluetooth range or no longer with you.
- The tracker device ID has changed.
Each Bluetooth tracker has a random ID that changes regularly. If the tracker isn’t near its owner, it may change less often, like once per day.
When the tracker changes its random IDs, it's no longer identified as the same tracker. Your Android device displays it as a new tracker in future scans or alerts.
Unknown tracker alerts consider multiple factors when they send an alert. To improve alert accuracy, you need to physically move with the tracker over time before receiving an alert.
The system is currently built so you only will receive one alert per tracker each day. If you’re still concerned that a tracker is with you, run a manual scan again to find nearby trackers. Learn how to run a manual scan .
Additional support resources
If you’re concerned and worried about your safety, these resources can help:
- Australia: WESNET Safety Net Australia
- United Kingdom: Refuge UK
- United States: Safety Net Project
