Android’s new Bluetooth tracking features… what do you think?

Device Settings
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Android has introduced new features to help protect against unwanted Bluetooth tracking. What are your thoughts? Are these changes enough?

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A lot of stores have Bluetooth beacons near entrances and in different sections. They track visitors by linking the beacons to cookies, social media, and advertising IDs.

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Indigo said:
A lot of stores have Bluetooth beacons near entrances and in different sections. They track visitors by linking the beacons to cookies, social media, and advertising IDs.

Yeah, but these beacons are stationary and just monitor devices passing by. This Android feature doesn’t really stop that kind of tracking.

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Indigo said:
A lot of stores have Bluetooth beacons near entrances and in different sections. They track visitors by linking the beacons to cookies, social media, and advertising IDs.

These beacons, like iBeacons, have been around for years. Android even used to have a feature where they’d send a silent notification with a link, useful for things like train schedules.

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@Misha
Or ads. That was the annoying part.

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Am I the only one who keeps Bluetooth off unless I need it?

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Nev said:
Am I the only one who keeps Bluetooth off unless I need it?

That’s fine unless you use earbuds or a smartwatch often. Then you’d have to turn it on all the time anyway.

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Nev said:
Am I the only one who keeps Bluetooth off unless I need it?

In 2024? Nah, there are at least three of you out there.

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Nev said:
Am I the only one who keeps Bluetooth off unless I need it?

There’s really no good reason to turn it off these days.

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I wish we could mark a tracker as ‘known’ even if it’s not ours. My roommate’s keys keep triggering notifications like ‘Oh no, a rogue AirTag is following you!’ It’s so annoying.

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Hopefully, these updates mean we’re closer to making the ‘With Network in all areas’ setting the default. That would be a big improvement.

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Adi said:
Hopefully, these updates mean we’re closer to making the ‘With Network in all areas’ setting the default. That would be a big improvement.

Don’t hold your breath. I don’t think they’re that forward-thinking.

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This seems like a good feature!

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Tan said:
This seems like a good feature!

Does this apply to trackers like tags? If I had one on my bike and someone stole it, wouldn’t they get a notification about the tag? That would make it useless for bikes.