How to Disable an Unknown AirTag Found Moving With You to Prevent Being Tracked - MacRumorsOpen MenuShow RoundupsShow Forums menuVisit ForumsOpen Sidebar
Skip to Content

How to Disable an Unknown AirTag Found Moving With You to Prevent Being Tracked

by

Apple's new AirTag item tracker lets you easily track things like your keys, wallet, purse, backpack, luggage, and more. AirTags have a small, circular design with a white side and a polished stainless steel side with an Apple logo.

Apple airtag front and back emoji 2up 042021 big
AirTag has been designed to discourage unwanted tracking. If you are an iPhone or iPad user, the built-in Find My app will notify you if an unknown AirTag is seen moving with you over time by displaying an "AirTag Found Moving With You" message on the screen. Even if you don't use an iOS device, an AirTag that isn't with the person who registered it for an extended period of time will play a sound when moved.

If an unknown AirTag is found to be moving with you, follow the steps below to disable the AirTag and stop sharing your location:

  1. Tap the "AirTag Found Moving With You" message.
  2. Tap on Continue.
  3. Tap on Instructions to Disable AirTag and follow the on-screen steps.

In a new support document, Apple says users who feel their safety is at risk should contact their local law enforcement, who can work with Apple. You might need to provide the AirTag or its serial number, according to Apple. If you need help finding the AirTag, tap Play Sound after tapping on the "AirTag Found Moving With You" message.

airtag privacy
If you find an AirTag or a lost item with an AirTag attached that has not been moving with you, follow the steps below to learn about the AirTag and how to discover information about its original owner.

  1. Tap and hold the top of your iPhone or other NFC-capable smartphone to the white side of the AirTag.
  2. Tap the notification that appears on your phone's screen. This will open a website that provides information about the AirTag, including its serial number.
  3. If the AirTag's owner marked it as lost, you might see a message with information about how to contact the owner. You can contact the owner to let them know that you found their AirTag if you feel comfortable doing so.

AirTags have unique Bluetooth identifiers that change frequently, which helps prevent you from being tracked from place to place, according to Apple. Apple says that no one, including Apple, knows the location or identity of any of the participating users or devices who help locate a missing AirTag.

For more information, read Apple's support document.

Related Roundup: AirTag
Buyer's Guide: AirTag (Buy Now)

Top Rated Comments

alexandr Avatar
68 months ago
i think this was explained, but what if someone stole your bag and then did this? wouldn't that defeat the purpose of having an airtag in it?
Score: 71 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Rudy69 Avatar
68 months ago
Basically they’re useless at finding stolen goods 🤦‍♂️
Score: 42 Votes (Like | Disagree)
BootLoxes Avatar
68 months ago

i think this was explained, but what if someone stole your bag and then did this? wouldn't that defeat the purpose of having an airtag in it?
This was exactly what I was going to post. I want these to put on my items of value. If they take my bag and get away, then couldnt they just deactivate them?
Score: 24 Votes (Like | Disagree)
68 months ago

I think a bigger issue is them alerting people on public transport along with you. Worse, a subset of those people are going to be either confused or deliberately annoying and are going to disable your tracker.
I believe as long as you are with it, it won't alert others.
Score: 19 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mazz0 Avatar
68 months ago
I think a bigger issue is them alerting people on public transport along with you. Worse, a subset of those people are going to be either confused or deliberately annoying and are going to disable your tracker.
Score: 17 Votes (Like | Disagree)
mazz0 Avatar
68 months ago
To be fair, as soon as these become popular thieves would start looking for and discarding them anyway, so they wouldn’t have been that useful for stolen goods anyway.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

iCloud iPhone 17 Pro

iPhone Users Who Pay for iCloud Storage Get Two New Perks on iOS 27

Thursday July 2, 2026 6:10 am PDT by
If you pay for certain iCloud+ storage plans beyond the 5GB that Apple offers for free, you will receive two more perks on iOS 27 at no additional cost. A summary of the two new iCloud+ perks on iOS 27:Increased daily usage limits for some new Apple Intelligence features, including image generation in the revamped Image Playground app. HomeKit Secure Video cameras receive generated video...
iPhone 4 on Black Feature

Apple Facing One of Its Worst Leaks Since the iPhone 4

Thursday July 2, 2026 9:53 am PDT by
Apple supplier Tata Electronics recently suffered a cyberattack that resulted in thousands of confidential files being published on the dark web, and this reportedly included some photos and documents related to the upcoming iPhone 18 Pro. We have elected not to share any of the leaked photos in this story due to the illegal nature in which they were obtained, but they can easily be found...
American Express Gold Apple Pay Feature

American Express Announces New Apple Pay Feature

Tuesday June 30, 2026 10:27 am PDT by
American Express today announced that you can now redeem Membership Rewards points when checking out with Apple Pay on the web and in apps on the iPhone and iPad. When checking out with Apple Pay on iOS 18 or iPadOS 18 or later, tap on your eligible American Express card (Platinum, Gold, Green, and others) and select the Membership Rewards points option. You can use points to cover all or...