How Apple, Google are Trying to Make Disney Vacations Safer

Since their release, Apple AirTags have shown to have a threatening side, especially in public places like Disney Parks.

Stories have been shared across multiple platforms by people, especially young girls discovering they were being tracked after an unknown person attached an Apple AirTag to them. In one case, we at Disney Fanatic shared how a 17-year-old Tennessee girl named Madison found out that an AirTag had been placed on her person and was tracking her four hours after the tracking began.

Read More: Family Shocked to Discover Apple AirTag Tracked Them at Walt Disney World

But now, it appears that is going to change.

Google, Apple AirTag to End Stealth Tracking

According to WESH2, the iPhone and Android software manufacturers have submitted a proposal to set standards and practices to thwart unwanted tracking. Samsung has also backed this proposal, meaning this would apply for AirTag and all similar technology such as Tile, Chipolo, and Pebblebee.

“This is an important capability for improving the privacy and safety of individuals in the circumstance that those accessories are used to track their location without their knowledge or consent,” the joint proposal states. The solution will be distributed through software updates to iPhone and Android phones.

Apple and AirTag hope to have a plan to end stealth tracking by the end of the year.

Related: Privacy Win! Disney Scraps “Chapek-Era” Fan-Tracking Ambitions

“Bluetooth trackers have created tremendous user benefits, but they also bring the potential of unwanted tracking, which requires industrywide action to solve,” said Dave Burke, Google’s vice president of Engineering for Android.

While locators come in handy for many aspects of one’s Disneyland or Disney World vacation, such as keeping track of one’s parking spot, keys, bags, and other luggage or personal belongings. But, they can clearly also be used for nefarious things such as abuse.

“These new standards will minimize opportunities for abuse of this technology and decrease the burden on survivors in detecting unwanted trackers,” said Erica Olsen, the senior director of National Network to End Domestic Violence’s Safety Net Project.

We at Disney Fanatic will continue to update our readers on Disney Parks news and stories as more developments come to light.