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Apple's "Find My" Network Officially Open to Third-Party Devices

Apr 7, 2021, 3:16 PM by Rich Brome @rbrome.bsky.social

Apple has officially opened up the technology behind "Find My iPhone" to non-Apple devices. The first devices using the new program ship next week, including bicycles from VanMoof, true wireless earbuds from Belkin, and a keychain-style tracking tag from Chipolo. If lost, these items can be located using Apple's Find My app. The Find My network uses iPhones and other Apple devices worldwide to find items reported missing. When an iPhone (etc.) comes within Bluetooth range of a device reported missing, the approximate location can be reported back to the owner, and the owner can send a command for the missing device to play a sound. The entire process is end-to-end encrypted and anonymous, so no one else, not even Apple or the third-party manufacturer, can view a device’s location or information.

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Jaden10

Apr 7, 2021, 10:34 PM

What, wait what?

While this is all good and fine. Wouldn't using someone else's phone without their permission be wrong? It will use data from the iPhone that located the missing device and the iPhone will connect to the missing item via bluetooth without that iPhone owners permission. Doesn't that go against one of apples main ethos? Privacy??

Rich Brome

The amount of data involved is absolutely tiny. It won't affect anyone's data allotment.

The data is all encrypted and anonymized to ensure there are no privacy issues.

The phone doesn't "connect" to the missing device over Bluetooth, it just ...
(continues)

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