Apple has just recently made it possible to locate AirTags even from Android smartphones: the app is already available and it's free
It was known almost immediately that Apple would sooner or later make available an app to locate its AirTags even through devices with Android operating system, but apart from that welcome announcement nothing had moved so far. So far, in fact, because Apple has just released Tracker Detect on the Play Store.
Through the Tracker Detect app, available for free download on Google's app store, Android users will still be able to locate Apple's trackers, which opens up a scenario not often seen in the Apple environment, namely that of an opening to the operating system of competitors. Apart from the AirPods wireless headphones, in fact, it's hard to find another Cupertino product "well disposed" towards the Google environment, and the novelty involving AirTags could be a launching pad for Cupertino-made trackers just as it happened with AirPods, whose excellent sales derive in part from Android users' purchases.
Tracker Detect, the Android app for AirTags
The operation of the Android app for AirTags is trivial. All you have to do is download it, install it, open it and, after a brief initial configuration, start searching for AirTags or trackers compatible with Apple's Find My network. If the app finds one, it will be shown in the tab dedicated to the search results, which also gives the possibility to make the object "ring" in order to locate it in a more immediate way.
There is also the opportunity to obtain the serial number of the device, so as to trace - eventually - the information on the owner to return the potential lost object. The app is already available on the Play Store for smartphones running Android version 9 or higher.
Good news for privacy
The opening of AirTags to Android is not only good for those who, while not an Apple user, are looking for a reliable, minimal and glamorous tracker. It's also good for privacy: Apple has stressed several times that through the Tracker Detect app, available for free since a few hours on the Play Store, you can locate AirTags but also all those trackers compatible with Apple's Find My network.
As a result, the number of devices that can be located through the app is wide, and above all it allows anyone to protect their privacy by identifying those trackers (AirTag or not) that could have been placed by third parties on objects that we own in order to locate us without our knowledge, from our travel luggage to our bags and cars.
Apple commented on the opening up of its trackers to Android: "AirTags offer industry-leading security and privacy, and now we're extending the new functionality to Android devices. The Tracker Detect app gives Android users the ability to search for an AirTag or other compatible object with the Find My network. We're raising the bar on privacy for our customers and the industry, in hopes that others will follow suit."