Long the best friend of thieves and stalkers, Tile are now including an anti-theft prompt to their Bluetooth trackers that will make them invisible to the Scan And Secure feature in its app.

With theft and robbery increasing, Tile’s new Anti-Theft mode ups the chances of recovering items if they are stolen.

Also, unlike other Bluetooth trackers, such as Apple’s AirTag, Tile doesn’t alert nearby users if you’re travelling near them, because such notifications let dodgy people know a stolen item has a tracker attached, which they can then remove.

This function was originally intended to prevent stalking, but it was then used by thieves to make their life easier.

Now, in theory, if a Tile user activates Anti-Theft Mode on their trackers, their items will be easier to recover as they won’t be sending out notifications and will be invisible to Scan And Secure.

To use Anti-Theft Mode you need to apply for ID verification. To do this, Tile insist you agree to the terms and conditions, then pass a three-stage verification, starting with a front to back ID comparison, followed by a selfie-to-ID comparison, then a live check.

Tile has apparently partnered with an unnamed third-party identity verification provider to confirm an ID pic matches the multi-angle selfies they have to submit.

To further dissuade stalkers trying to abuse the Anti-Theft Mode, there is a $1 million fine if convicted misusing it.