Google and Apple on Tuesday proposed a new technical standard aimed at alerting people who are being tracked through small devices originally offered as tools to help find lost keys, luggage or personal items.

Apple's coin-sized AirTag devices with Bluetooth technology are popular with travelers but have also played a role in cases of harassment.

These devices, after connecting to a mobile application, can track in real time the geographical location of the object to which they are attached, in addition to the possibility of tracking the people who carry them, sometimes without their knowledge.

And “iPhones” notify its users if it detects the presence of an “Eartag” device near them (or wireless earphones from “Apple”), even if it does not belong to them.

The tech giants' proposal aims to make the technical specifications of other companies' Bluetooth signals compatible with the alert systems of the iOS (Apple's) and Android (Google's) mobile operating systems.

A joint statement by “Apple” and “Google” stated that a number of companies that manufacture devices similar to “Eartag”, most notably “Samsung” and “Tile”, “expressed their support” for the new proposal.

"Devices with Bluetooth technology have great practical benefits for users, but they can also be used to track people without their knowledge, which is a problem that the entire industry needs to solve," the statement quoted Dave Burke, vice president of engineering for Android, as saying.

In the United States, many women filed lawsuits against Apple last year, after they were tracked through Ertag devices and subjected to harassment.

In June 2022, a 26-year-old man was killed by his girlfriend in Indiana, after the young woman suspected that he was cheating on her and tracked him down through an AirTag device, according to legal documents related to the case.

Irving police spokesman Robert Reeves told AFP in February that the city's police station had dealt with a large number of cases involving the famous "Apple" device.