Apple Explains How to Stay Safe With AirTag and More in Personal Safety Guide

Apple today shared an updated Personal Safety User Guide that serves as a resource for anyone who is concerned about or experiencing technology-enabled abuse, stalking, or harassment, the company said. The new guide is available on Apple's website, complete with a table of contents and a search tool, and as a downloadable PDF.

airtag zipper
The guide outlines the personal safety features that are built into Apple devices, with a new section added for the AirTag following recent news stories about Apple's small item tracking accessory being used to track people without their permission.

While much of the information in the guide may be common knowledge to experienced Apple users, it is still a worthwhile read, with helpful tips for controlling who can access your location, blocking unknown sign-in attempts, avoiding fraudulent requests to share info, setting up two-factor authentication, managing privacy settings, and more.

Offering quick checklists and in-depth feature tasks, this resource is designed to help customers experiencing technology-enabled abuse, stalking, or harassment understand the options available across the Apple ecosystem that can help you protect your personal safety. It includes step-by-step instructions on how to remove someone's access to information you previously granted—like location data in the Find My app, meetings you've shared in Calendar, and more. It also highlights features You can use to enhance your personal safety—like how to automatically let a friend know when you've arrived home safely and how to quickly engage Emergency SOS.

Apple said the guide will continue to be updated on a regular basis, so it may be worth bookmarking to stay up to date with the latest personal safety tips.

Popular Stories

New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18

20 New Things Your iPhone Can Do in iOS 18.2

Monday December 16, 2024 8:55 am PST by
Apple released iOS 18.2 in the second week of December, bringing the second round of Apple Intelligence features to iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 16 models. This update brings several major advancements to Apple's AI integration, including completely new image generation tools and a range of Visual Intelligence-based enhancements. Apple has added a handful of new non-AI related feature controls as...
iphone 16 apple intelligence

Apple Drops Plans for iPhone Hardware Subscription Service

Wednesday December 18, 2024 11:39 am PST by
Apple is no longer planning to launch a hardware subscription service that would let customers "subscribe" to get a new iPhone each year, reports Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman first shared rumors about Apple's work on a hardware subscription service back in 2022, and at the time, he said that Apple wanted to develop a simple system that would allow customers to pay a monthly fee to gain...
iPhone 17 Pro Dual Tone Feature 1

iPhone 17 Pro Rumored to Stick With 'Triangular' Camera Design

Wednesday December 18, 2024 2:36 am PST by
Contrary to recent reports, the iPhone 17 Pro will not feature a horizontal camera layout, according to the leaker known as "Instant Digital." In a new post on Weibo, the leaker said that a source has confirmed that while the appearance of the back of the iPhone 17 Pro has indeed changed, the layout of the three cameras is "still triangular," rather than the "horizontal bar spread on the...
elevation lab airtag battery

Your AirTag's Battery Will Last for Up to 10 Years With Elevation Lab's New TimeCapsule Enclosure

Wednesday December 18, 2024 10:05 am PST by
Elevation Lab today announced the launch of TimeCapsule, an innovative and simple solution for increasing the battery life of Apple's AirTag. Priced at $20, TimeCapsule is an AirTag enclosure that houses two AA batteries that offer 14x more battery capacity than the CR2032 battery that the AirTag runs on. It works by attaching the AirTag's upper housing to the built-in custom contact in the...
apple tv 4k yellow bg feature

New Apple TV Rumored to Launch Next Year With These Features

Tuesday December 17, 2024 9:02 am PST by
The current Apple TV 4K was released more than two years ago, so the streaming device is becoming due for a hardware upgrade soon. Fortunately, it was recently rumored that a new Apple TV will launch at some point next year. Below, we recap rumors about the next-generation Apple TV. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman last week reported that Apple has been working on its own combined Wi-Fi and...
blackmagic vision pro

Blackmagic Debuts $30K 3D Camera for Capturing Video for Vision Pro

Monday December 16, 2024 4:17 pm PST by
Blackmagic today announced that its URSA Cine Immersive camera is now available for pre-order, with deliveries set to start late in the first quarter of 2025. Blackmagic says that this is the world's first commercial camera system designed to capture 3D content for the Vision Pro. The URSA Cine Immersive camera was first introduced in June, but it has not been available for purchase until...
mac pro creativity

Apple Launched the Controversial 'Trashcan' Mac Pro 11 Years Ago Today

Thursday December 19, 2024 7:00 pm PST by
Apple launched the controversial "trashcan" Mac Pro eleven years ago today, introducing one of its most criticized designs that persisted through a period of widespread discontentment with the Mac lineup. The redesign took the Mac Pro in an entirely new direction, spearheaded by a polished aluminum cylindrical design that became unofficially dubbed the "trashcan" in the Mac community. All of ...
iPhone 17 Slim Feature

'iPhone 17 Air' With 'Major' Design Changes and 19-Inch MacBook Detailed in New Report

Sunday December 15, 2024 9:47 am PST by
Apple is planning a series of "major design" and "format changes" for iPhones over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal's Aaron Tilley and Yang Jie. The paywalled report published today corroborated the widely-rumored "iPhone 17 Air" with an "ultrathin" design that is thinner than current iPhone models. The report did not mention a specific measurement, but previous...

Top Rated Comments

jicon Avatar
38 months ago

I got one for my dog. Surprised it still works after 8 months, even in the water. Just had to replace the battery.

Thankfully my dog stays close so I’ve never had to try it out.

I have zero use case beyond dog tracking.
Got one for my dog too.. Except, only my wife can track where he is, because the airtag is tied to her iPhone only.
Why on earth can't an airtag be designated to be able to be tracked by more than one person in Find My?
Score: 12 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Dwalls90 Avatar
38 months ago

Geez this is bad. We made a stalking tool, so now here are all the ways you can undo the harm we've created.

How about making any found airtags trackable back to the point of purchase and/or owner as an easier fix?
I'm not sure that being able to lookup someone's information based on possessing an airtag alone is the best solution to a concern regarding privacy?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
TheYayAreaLiving ?️ Avatar
38 months ago

Just clicked through..... Who in the world needs 4TB of iCloud storage?!
I wouldn't mind. With the amount of data I carry I'm sure it will easily exceed 4TB. ?


This is just on my primary iPhone.

Attachment Image
Score: 6 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Aston441 Avatar
38 months ago
I got one for my dog. Surprised it still works after 8 months, even in the water. Just had to replace the battery.

Thankfully my dog stays close so I’ve never had to try it out.

I have zero use case beyond dog tracking.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
Hajj.david Avatar
38 months ago
One of the few apple products that seemed so promising but ultimately went straight to the trash by apples own nerfing.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)
44267547 Avatar
38 months ago

They are, by law enforcement. If you're being stalked via an AirTag, when you report it to the police, give them the serial number, and they can get more info from Apple.
It’s not that easy . It’s not like Apple would voluntarily give anybody that information that claims to be L.E. They probably would need a signed warrant, and it’s a much more timely process than just obtaining a serial number and calling Apple. There’s legality here with consumer information. You’d be surprised how many agencies probably would not call Apple or even go that route, if they can backtrack using other methods.
Score: 4 Votes (Like | Disagree)