How to Find an Apple AirTag Hidden in Your Car
Apple AirTags are useful devices for locating commonly lost items such as keys and wallets, but they can also be used for more sinister purposes, such as tracking your location without your knowledge or consent.
For a rogue AirTag to reveal meaningful surveillance information to its owner, it must travel with you: hidden in your pocket, purse, or a car you regularly drive. In most cases, Apple should alert you if it detects an unknown AirTag, with a notification on your iPhone (or iPad) such as “AirTag Found Moving With You.”
How to enable AirTag alerts
If you suspect you may be being tracked, or want to know if you’ve accidentally acquired unfamiliar accessories like AirTags and AirPods, be sure to turn on unwanted tracking alerts on your Apple device.
-
In Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services, turn on Location Services .
-
Scroll down, tap System Services , and turn on Find My iPhone .
-
Turn on Important Places to receive notifications when you arrive at frequent destinations, such as your home.
-
In Settings > Bluetooth, turn on Bluetooth .
-
In Settings > Notifications > Find My, turn on Allow Notifications .
Make sure your device is not in airplane mode, this will prevent you from receiving tracking notifications.
If you’re an Android user, the Tracker Detect app will search for devices on the Apple Find My network.
How to find AirTag in a car
If alerts are enabled as described above, you should receive a notification if an unidentified AirTag is traveling with you. Tap the alert > Continue > Play sound . AirTags play a beep, but if you don’t hear it, it’s probably just hidden well enough to drown out the sound.
Note that the AirTag will also beep after some time (three days) away from the paired iPhone or iPad, so if you hear it unexpectedly, you should also look nearby. On the other hand, if it is in close proximity to its owner, the alarm will not sound.
If you have an iPhone 11 or newer, you can also use the Find Nearby feature to pinpoint an unknown AirTag. Tap an alert > Continue > Find Nearby and follow the onscreen instructions. You should see the distance and direction of your iPhone from the tag.
If none of this helps, you may have to manually find the AirTag. Pockets in clothing or bags are a good place to start, although keep in mind that these devices are discreet and can also be sewn into clothing. Check compartments in the vehicle, under floor mats, seat pockets, etc.
How to disable unknown AirTag
Once you find a hidden AirTag, you can get more information about who it belongs to and then disable tracking of it. Hold the top of your iPhone (or any NFC-enabled smartphone, which is most Android devices and all modern iPhones with recent OS updates) over the white side of the AirTag. Click on the pop-up notification, which will take you to a website that shows the tag’s serial number and the last four digits of the owner’s phone number. Take a screenshot in case you need this information later.
To turn off AirTag, go to Find > Items > Items Found on You . Select AirTag, click “Disable Instructions” and follow the instructions. You can also call your local law enforcement agency and file a report.