AirGuard -- Protecting Android Users From Stalking Attacks By Apple Find My Devices

TL;DR

AirGuard is an Android application designed to detect and prevent stalking attacks using Apple Find My devices, addressing a privacy gap for Android users by providing effective tracking protection.

Contribution

We reverse engineered Apple's stalking detection features and developed AirGuard, an Android app that enhances user privacy against Apple tracking devices.

Findings

AirGuard effectively detects Apple tracking devices in real-world scenarios.

AirGuard outperforms Apple's Tracker Detect in stalking detection capabilities.

Tens of thousands of users contributed data, validating AirGuard's practical utility.

Abstract

Finder networks in general, and Apple's Find My network in particular, can pose a grave threat to users' privacy and even health if these networks are abused for stalking. Apple's release of the AirTag, a very affordable tracker covered by the nearly ubiquitous Find My network, amplified this issue. While Apple provides a stalking detection feature within its ecosystem, billions of Android users are still left in the dark. Apple recently released the Android app "Tracker Detect," which does not deliver a convincing feature set for stalking protection. We reverse engineer Apple's tracking protection in iOS and discuss its features regarding stalking detection. We design "AirGuard" and release it as an Android app to protect against abuse by Apple tracking devices. We compare the performance of our solution with the Apple-provided one in iOS and study the use of AirGuard in the wild over multiple weeks using data contributed by tens of thousands of active users.