Apple Isn’t Blocking Google’s Find My Device Network or AirTag Clone, No Matter What Google Says

Apple Air tags are great because in addition to using ultra-wideband (UWB) radio for location, they also use other people’s iPhones and Apple devices to create networks of devices that can find each other. Google tried to build the same thing, Find my device network which can share the location in the network of devices, along with its own version of AirTagsbut there were problems. Although Google blames Apple for the delays, the situation is a bit more complicated and bureaucratic.

The problem is with the universal standard for Detection of unwanted location trackers (DULT). Whether you have an Android or iPhone, if someone puts an Apple AirTag on you without your knowledge, your phone will find the unwanted tracker and notify you of its presence. This was not a feature when the AirTag was first introduced; it was added later by Apple and then Google on Android.

Google has said it won’t launch its own location-tracking tags until Apple builds a similar feature into iOS. If the iPhone can’t detect unwanted Google trackers, Google won’t sell them. It seems like it’s handing the fate of its trackers over to Apple, but in reality, the organization in the middle of this impasse is: Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF).

IETF doesn’t move at the speed of the Internet

The IETF oversees the big protocols and standards that make things work on the Internet. If there’s a change in TCP/IP, the road system of the information superhighway, the IETF will oversee and ultimately approve the changes. As the Internet of Things gains momentum and more and more devices communicate with each other, it’s the IETF’s key work that will keep everything connected.

Still, the IETF is moving slowly. Google and Apple submitted an Internet Draft proposal for the DULT protocol to the IETF in May 2023. After taking industry concerns and feedback into account, a version 01 proposal was submitted in December. After reviewing the proposal, there are still gaps that need to be addressed before the standard can be finalized, but it could be ready for release early this year.

The IETF is in no rush, though. The working group that will finalize the DULT standard aims to finish by mid-2025. Google is now looking to bring products to market, and it likely has an AirTag competitor ready to go—we’ve even heard that a product could launch under the Nest brand.

Google points finger at Apple, without evidence

What’s the reason for the delay? Apple and Google have said they will wait until version 1 is approved. Now Google seems to be pointing the finger at Apple. A conversation with Mishaal Rahman of Android Police, Google says that Apple is holding up the process, waiting for a version it calls a “production implementation.” It’s unclear exactly what that means, since that’s not what the IETF calls its documents.

Google claims that this “production implementation” was “released” last December, and it seems to question why Apple would wait any longer to add this feature to iOS. In fact, Apple and Google submitted version 01 of the DULT proposal to the IETF last December, but nothing final has been released. The proposal never mentions a “production implementation” status, and it’s clear from the document that there’s still a lot of work to be done.

Honestly, Google doesn’t have to wait for Apple, but it’s good practice and better for the safety of users… iPhone users, of course. If Google is pointing fingers at Apple and messing around in this matter, then I suspect the company is getting increasingly frustrated with this partnership. I expect we’ll see some movement on this sooner rather than later, and perhaps in time for the big Google I/O 2024 event in May – we’ll be patient and refrain from pointing fingers until we know more.