I think this might be what you’re looking for: https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard
GOS let’s you disable Bluetooth automatically if your not using it. So yes, it protects against Bluetooth trackers that way.
If you mean the airtags and whatever google is calling their airtags, no, it’s not baked I to the osz but you can install apps to show you all the trackers in your vicinity
So yes, it protects against Bluetooth trackers that way.
Umm… that’s now how those trackers work.
I mean, yes your phone could be a point of data, but turning off bluetooth doesn’t stop you from being tracked.
If the tracker is AirTag, or Samsung’s SmartTag, or one that uses Google networks, then all it takes it one person living near you to walk past your house and it will upload the location of the tracker* that your crazy ex put in your packpack. There are like a lot of iPhones, Samsung Galaxy phones btw, there’s a good chance that (in most parts of the world) your neighbors are using either an iPhone or a Galaxy phone.
(*Technically, its uploading the location the the device that scanned it, but it’ll be close enough to your house for your stalker to find you)
Welcome to the wonderful world of Bluetooth Mac address tracking, often used in stores to track the location of customers throughout the store. So yes absolutely Bluetooth tracking is a real thing, turning off your Bluetooth radio prevents your Bluetooth radio from being tracked.
https://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~nibhaska/papers/sp22_paper.pdf
Bluetooth beacons, which I believe most people are thinking of when they talk about air tags, or Bluetooth tiles, are a different thing entirely.
Bluetooth threats:
- a phones radio being tracked
- a Bluetooth beacon planted on someone
So its a dilemma.
Either turn on bluetooth so you can detect trackers, but you then expose your bluetooth MAC address allowing others to track you.
Or turn off bluetooth, but you’ll never know if there’s a secret track on you.
Wonder if there’s a way to passively scan for trackers without emitting bluetooth signals.
(Does Graphene OS allow MAC address randomization for bluetooth?)
Does Graphene OS allow MAC address randomization for bluetooth
Actually, I believe AOSP allows for a MAC address randomization when not connected to a device, but as the UCSD paper above indicates, it’s still quite fingerprintable
With a term that broad- how is anyone supposed to answer you?
In an app? On a website? Something you suspect the hardware might be doing?
Bluetooth Trackers I mean
Aha. It appears Google’s release of android has that sort of functionality baked in. I wasn’t aware of that.
Still, it seems out of scope for an operating system.
It looks like the EFF recommends some app called “AirGuard”- even over using the built in scanners.
It looks like the EFF recommends some app called “AirGuard”- even over using the built in scanners.
AFAIK, these apps require you to manually open it and scan, and does not constantly scan for trackers. So, unless you just have a sort of paranoid “ritual” to open the app every time, you will likely miss a tracker placed by a creepy ex who will follow you to your new address.
Both the default of of iOS and Google’s Android would constantly monitor what Bluetooth signals are nearby, and give you a notification when such tracker is detected to be moving with you (regardless of which brand of bluetooth trackers).
Your threat model seems… Interesting lol. Is there a high chance of people trying to aggressively plant a tracker on you when out in the open?
I mean… I think I might just be paranoid… 🤷♂️
You can get airguard from fdroid, and it does periodically scan for trackers in this way.
I haven’t really dug into this, but AirGuards github page claims the app scans periodically and will give you a notification on suspicious results.
