Tile is introducing an antistalking safety feature to its app. The new “Scan & Secure” feature will enable users to find any unwanted Tile trackers around them. The company had first announced this feature in October last year. It starts rolling out to users this week.
Scan & Secure is available to anyone who has installed the Tile app on their Android smartphone or iPhone. It doesn’t require you to log in with a Tile account. The feature shows up on the start-up screen of the app. You can simply tap on it to see if there’s a Tile tracker nearby that shouldn’t be there. If you’re already logged into the app, you can find the Scan and Secure menu in Settings.
Tile advises you to move (walk or drive) a certain distance away from your current location while using this feature. This will help the app find if any tracker is moving along with you. For best results, avoid circling one location. You might also want to avoid using this feature in crowded places, such as public transport. This could result in false positives as the app could detect a nearby person’s Tile tracker.
But if you do find an unwanted Tile tracker in your belongings, be it via the app or by yourself, the company advises you to reach out to resources like the National Domestic Violence Hotline (US), The Pixel Project, or local law enforcement.
Tile adds an antistalking feature too
Smart trackers like those from Tile or Apple’s AirTag or Samsung’s SmartTag have made it incredibly convenient to track and find lost items. You simply attach one to an item and should you ever misplace or lose it, the connected smartphone app will precisely tell you its whereabouts.
However, this precise location tracking also makes those trackers a stalking tool. People can use it to track your every move. All they need to do is somehow hide the tracker in your proximity, like a bag or your car. Now, wherever you go with that bag or the car, you’ll be sending your location to them.
To tackle this issue, Apple recently added the ability to scan for unwanted AirTags. Tile is now jumping on the bandwagon as well. Unfortunately, like Apple’s Android app, Tile’s version also doesn’t automatically look for unwanted trackers. You have to open the app and manually run the scan.
Nonetheless, if you do suspect that someone might be stalking you with a Tile tracker, you can now download the Tile app and do a quick scan for it. Existing Tile users can also click the button below to download the latest version of the app from the Google Play Store.
2022-03-18 15:07:33