In 2021, Tile announced a new line of Bluetooth trackers and some additional features in its app. One of them was Scan & Secure, Tile’s answer to Apple’s anti-harassment feature that allowed anyone to use the Tile app to search for a tracker even if they didn’t have an account.
The only problem is that these features can be used by thieves to quickly locate a tracker attached to a valuable item and remove it. And that makes the devices pretty much useless if your intention was to use them to locate your laptop, bike, or something else in the event of theft.
Now, however, Tile is rolling out a new anti-theft feature that will make any Tile device “invisible” when Scan & Secure is used by someone else. The company claims it works with all Tile models and third-party ones as well.
Its use is free: it is not blocked behind a Tile Premium subscription. The only requirement is that you must be over 18 years old.
Obviously, this raises questions as to whether someone could then use the mode to stalk someone, but Tile has a set of measures in place to try to prevent that from happening.
To activate Anti-Theft, you’ll need to take a selfie and photo of an ID such as a passport, as well as let Tile store your name and date of birth. This means that if you abused the feature, you would be subject to prosecution and the authorities would know that the tracker belonged to you.
You also need to check a box that says “I agree to pay $1 million in damages if I’m convicted in court of using my Tile devices to illegally track anyone without their consent.”
Dominik Tomaszewski / Foundry
Tile also says it uses “a biometric scan” to detect fake identities so the system can’t be manipulated.
An interesting restriction is that once enabled, Anti-Theft cannot be disabled for that Tile. And, naturally, that means the tile can’t be discovered using Scan and Secure.
“Location sharing and finding has become part of our everyday fabric, and it’s not going anywhere. We’re building products for the vast majority of people who use them as intended, and for those who don’t, we’re committed to fully cooperating with law enforcement,” said Chris Hulls, CEO of Life360 (which now owns Tile) .
“To effectively combat harassment with technology, we need to implement safeguards such as the identity registration of all tracking devices small enough to be placed on a person so that police forces have information to obtain justice for the victims. In the meantime, we will do what we can at the product level to protect people from peripheral cases of bad actors while increasing the likelihood of recovering stolen items with Tile to help people live more relaxed lives.
The company is also keen to point out that Tile does not notify nearby smartphone users when an unknown Bluetooth tracker is traveling with them.
Proactive notifications – the kind you get when you use an Apple AirTag – can tell thieves that a tracker is attached to the item they stole. And some Bluetooth trackers beep when they’re too far from their owner, again making their presence obvious.
That means they’re pretty much useless for tracking valuables, and that’s a reason to choose Tile over an AirTag or other rival. And of course, Tiles works on Android and iPhone.
