Before you leave
- Switch on your phone's unknown tracker alerts (iPhone: Find My tracking notifications; Android: Settings → Safety & emergency).
- Keep Bluetooth on, and allow location for the scanner you use.
- Share your trip plan with someone you trust and agree a check-in time.
- Know the local emergency number for where you are going.
Check your belongings
- Empty and check every pocket and zip of your bag and luggage, including lining and the hard-to-reach corners.
- Check the items you were given or bought second-hand, such as a coat or a backpack.
- Look at the outside of the suitcase: handles, wheel housings and luggage-tag pockets.
On arrival
- Hotel or rental: a tracker is more likely to be with you than in the room, so check your belongings first.
- Rental car: check seat pockets, glove box, boot and wheel arches, and see how to check your car.
- Public transport: if an alert appears on a bus or train, look around before assuming it is aimed at you. A fellow passenger's keys are a common cause.
Run a scan on your first long journey
Open TrackerGuard in Chrome on Android before a long walk, drive or transfer and press Scan. If a tracker is genuinely travelling with you across several places, it shows as Following you, with a route map you can show to the police.
If something feels wrong
Go to a busy, public place and follow what to do if you find an AirTag.
In testing. No scanner can promise that nothing is hidden. Trust your instincts as well.