The clearest sign an AirTag is tracking you is an alert on your phone: “AirTag Found Moving With You” on an iPhone, or an unknown tracker alert on Android. A chirp from your bag or your car that you can’t explain is another. Either way, you can find the tag in a few minutes and decide what to do next.

How an AirTag tracks someone

An AirTag is a small disc that sends out a Bluetooth signal. Nearby iPhones and other devices in Apple’s Find My network pick up that signal and pass the tag’s location to its owner, anonymously. That’s how it finds lost keys. It’s also how someone could follow you with a tag slipped into your bag, a coat pocket or your car.

Apple built in two warnings. Your phone can alert you when an AirTag that’s away from its owner is moving with you. And an AirTag that has been away from its owner for a while plays a sound when it’s moved.

Sign 1: An alert on your iPhone

On an iPhone, the alert reads “AirTag Found Moving With You.” Tap it to see a map of where the tag was detected with you, marked with red dots.

Alerts need iOS 14.5 or later. In Settings, make sure Location Services, Bluetooth and Tracking Notifications are on and Airplane Mode is off, or the alert can’t reach you.

A borrowed AirTag, or one on the keys of someone you live with, can set off the same alert. Think about who you’ve been with before you assume the worst.

Sign 2: An alert on your Android phone

Android 6 and later can warn you when someone else’s tracker is moving with you, away from its owner. Tap the alert to see a map of where it was detected.

You can also check any time. Open Settings, tap Safety & emergency, then Unknown tracker alerts, then Scan now. A manual scan takes about 10 seconds. Apple’s Tracker Detect app on Google Play looks for trackers too, and if one has been near you for at least 10 minutes, you can play a sound to find it.

Sign 3: A chirp you can’t place

You hear a short chirp from your bag, a coat pocket or somewhere in the car, and nothing you own makes that sound. Stop and look. An AirTag that has been separated from its owner plays a sound when it moves.

How to find the AirTag

1. Play the sound. Tap the alert and choose Play Sound. On Android, Google says playing the sound won’t notify the owner.
2. Use Find Nearby on a supported iPhone. It shows how far away the tag is and which way to go.
3. Check the places you don’t look often. Apple points to jacket pockets, the outer pockets of a bag and your car. For a full car check, see how to find a GPS tracker on your car.
4. Sweep with a detector. If the sound is hard to place, walk a Hero Privacy Pen slowly over your bag, your coat and the car. It beeps or vibrates when it picks up a wireless signal from an AirTag, a GPS tracker or a camera, and the alert gets stronger as you get closer. Turn off your own phone first, because the pen reacts to any device that’s sending a signal. Once it narrows down the spot, check it with your hands and a flashlight.

Once you’ve found it

Hold the top of your iPhone, or any phone with NFC, near the white side of the AirTag. A web page opens with its serial number and the last four digits of the owner’s phone number. Take a screenshot. If someone lost the tag, they may have left contact details there.

To stop it, tap Instructions to Disable on your phone and follow the steps. After that, the owner stops getting its location.

Think about your safety before you do. Google notes that the owner may still see the last place the tracker was on, and that turning some trackers off resets them, which makes it harder for police to find out who owns them. Safety advocates also warn that removing a tracker can alert the person who planted it. If you think you know who that is, make a plan first.

If you feel unsafe

Go to a safe public place and call the police. Police can work with Apple to get information about the tag, and they may ask for the AirTag and its serial number, so hold on to both.

If you think a partner or an ex is tracking you, the National Domestic Violence Hotline can help you plan your next step. Call 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788. It’s free, confidential and open 24/7.

Check your bag and your car before you have to

Phone alerts are built for AirTags and other Bluetooth item trackers. A hidden camera in a rental or a GPS tracker under your bumper is a different job.

Keep a Hero Privacy Pen in your bag or your glove box. It needs no app or Wi-Fi, alerts you with a beep or a silent vibration, and its infrared finder helps you spot a camera lens that isn’t sending a signal. Walk your bag, your car or the room you’re sleeping in, and get an answer in a few minutes.

Get the Hero Privacy Pen