Trackers follow a person

The AirTag alert, explained calmly

Cameras watch a place; trackers follow a person. Cheap item-trackers have been misused to follow people — and the checks are quick.

The 30-second check

iPhone: Apple alerts you automatically if an unknown AirTag travels with you over time — "Unknown Accessory Detected" or "AirTag Found Moving With You." Follow the prompts to make it play a sound and locate it.
Android: Google delivers unknown-tracker alerts for AirTags and compatible trackers, and you can run a manual scan from safety settings. Apple also offers Tracker Detect for Android.
By hand: outer pockets and seams of bags, under floor mats and in the trunk of a car, coat linings. A tracker has to be somewhere you carry.

What the alerts can't do

They're a real improvement with real gaps. They generally need time and movement together — the tag has to travel with you, away from its owner, before you're warned, so a short trip may end before anything fires. They cover Apple's tags and the compatible standard, not every no-name tracker or a purpose-built GPS unit with its own SIM. On Android they depend on Bluetooth being on. Treat an alert as the system working; never treat silence as a guarantee. For vehicles, do the physical 60-second check.

One serious note. Tracking is sometimes tied to stalking or an abusive relationship — a different and more dangerous situation than a nosy host. If that's you: your safety comes first. Don't tip off the person, and contact local law enforcement or the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) for a plan. Specifically in that situation, do not make the tag play a sound while you're somewhere the other person could reach you.

Cover: The Traveler's Counter-Surveillance Field Manual

The Field Manual — PDF edition

The book covers luggage, coats, and the habit that makes this automatic. The complete system — every check on this site plus the ten-minute walkthrough, audio devices, your legal rights, and what to do if you find something. 47 printable pages, instant download, keep it on any device.

Get the Field Manual — $27

Prefer Kindle? $7.99 on Amazon.

Keep going

The 90-second room sweepFour steps, no gear — the check to run when you arrive. Find hidden cameras in an AirbnbWhere devices actually hide, and the rules hosts must follow. The flashlight trickThe one free method that catches a camera even when it is off. The two-way mirror testWhy the fingernail trick doesn't work — and what does. Do detector apps work?What a controlled lab study found when 11 apps met real hidden cameras. Find a GPS tracker on a carThe 60-second check, plus the data your rental car keeps. Found something? Do thisThe order matters: don't touch it, cover your sightlines, document.