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How to check your Android phone for AirTags and other trackers

Run Android's own tracker scan, then cover the trackers it does not list, and know where to look by hand. A step-by-step guide.

The short answer

Android has a built-in scan for unknown trackers. Google's steps: "Open your device’s Settings app. Tap Safety & Emergency > Unknown tracker alerts > Scan now." It takes about 10 seconds and works with AirTags and Google Find Hub tags. Samsung Galaxy SmartTags and Tile are not on Google's list, so to cover those, use an app that listens for them, and search by hand where trackers are usually hidden.

1. Run Android's own scan

  1. Open the Settings app.
  2. Tap Safety & emergency, then Unknown tracker alerts.
  3. Tap Scan now and keep the phone still for about 10 seconds.

Google's help page says: "Unknown tracker alerts currently work with Find Hub network compatible tags, headphones, and Apple AirTags." The feature needs Android 6 or later. (Source: Google, Android Help, "Find unknown trackers", support.google.com/android/answer/13658562, read 13 November 2026.)

2. Cover the trackers Android does not list

Samsung Galaxy SmartTags, Tile and Chipolo are sold to find keys and bags, and are small enough to hide in a bag or a car. TrackerScan listens for them as well as for AirTags, other Find My trackers and Find Hub tags:

  • Scan nearby lists every tracker your phone hears right now, with its type.
  • Background protection checks every 15 minutes and warns when the same tracker was heard at three places you went to, over at least an hour (four places for a Tile). Each warning shows its reasons.
  • Find it is a warmer and colder signal meter, and it can play a sound on trackers that support it.

TrackerScan is an Android app, free for 7 days with no payment details. The places it notes stay on your phone.

3. Search by hand

A tracker's speaker can be removed or disabled, so silence proves nothing. Look in:

  • the car: under the seats, the boot, the wheel arches and the bumpers
  • bags and coat pockets, and the linings of both
  • child seats and buggies
  • gifts you received recently

What no scan can tell you

No app hears every tracker. A Bluetooth scan cannot find GPS trackers that report over the mobile network, trackers that are switched off, or every model and firmware version. Finding nothing is not proof that there is nothing.

If you feel unsafe

Google's advice: "Go to a safe public location and contact law enforcement or a trusted contact if you feel that your safety is at risk." If you think someone is tracking you, contact the police or a support service before you remove or disable a tracker you find: see Found a tracker? What to do (trackerscan.app/editorial/found-a-tracker).