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Apple AirTag proved to be a boon for criminals. Here’s why, and some ways to fix unwanted traces.
Released last April, the coat button-sized AirTag is a Bluetooth tracking device designed to help you find keys, backpacks, wallets, devices, or any personal item you want to track. It tracks things using Apple’s crowdsourced Find My network, which as of 2021 has about 1 billion devices worldwide. It requires iOS 14.5 and iPad iOS 14.5 or later.
AirTags will help you find lost items by showing you a map of your location or playing a sound. If you have an iPhone 11 or newer, you can locate the AirTag using Precision Finding, which will guide you directly to your AirTag.
This is where the problem lies
AirTags excel at their design goals. The problem is that stalkers and thieves quickly figure this out too. There are now growing voices claiming that Apple underestimated the dangers of the device.
Washington Post reporter Geoff Fowler discusses Apple AirTags on Monday, March 14, 2022, in San Francisco, California.
(Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Tennessee family visiting Disneyland says they use Apple AIRTAG to track them
Reports show that AirTags are increasingly being used for tracking. For example, a Vice investigation revealed that out of a total of 150 police reports from 8 police departments mentioning AirTags over an 8-month period, there were 50 cases in which women contacted police after being notified that they were being stalked by AirTags they did not. have.
“Twenty-five of them could identify a person in their life — ex-partner, husband, boss — who they strongly suspected had AirTags installed in their cars in order to stalk and harass them,” Vice said.
Another report earlier this year revealed how a stalker surreptitiously put an AirTag on a supermodel’s jacket, followed her for five hours, walking from bar to bar, then on her way home. on the way.
This recent law enforcement video illustrates how criminals can attach AirTags to vehicles, track the vehicle to the owner’s home, and then steal the car at the criminal’s convenience.
How to Stop Unwanted Tracking
A boxed AirTag is displayed at the Apple Store George Street in Sydney, Australia on April 30, 2021. Apple’s newest accessory, the AirTag, is a small device that helps people track items, using Apple’s Find My network to locate lost items such as keys, wallets or bags.
(Photo by James D Morgan/Getty Images)
Apple’s notification system for warning unknown devices can be confusing because it’s designed to detect a variety of devices.
Confusion arises when you try to determine whether the device is unwanted – and possibly a threat – or just a harmless unknown device.
But assuming worst-case scenario, in the case of unwanted AirTags, a pop-up notification should appear on your iPhone within a few hours saying “AirTags found to move with you”, as Apple covers As explained in the support page that needs to be tracked. Find My displays a map of where you observed the AirTag with you.
Also, unwanted AirTags placed in an item should start beeping when that item is moved.
3 Ways Incognito Mode Can Save You
In its February update on AirTags and unwanted tracking, Apple also said it would add Precision Finding, which allows recipients of unwanted tracking alerts to more accurately locate the unknown if you own an iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 13 AirTag.
Apple also released an app called Tracker Detect for Android users on Google Play.
Third-party apps can also let you find Bluetooth devices in your area. (See MacWorld: How to Find, Block, and Disable Unknown AirTags That Move With You.)
Apple AirTag devices at the Spring Loaded virtual product launch event on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 in Tiskilwa, Illinois, USA.
(Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Finally, if you find an AirTag you don’t need, you can disable it completely by removing the battery cover. This is done by turning counterclockwise on the back of the tracker and then removing the battery.
Apple says AirTags are designed to help people find their personal belongings — not to track people or other people’s possessions.
In an Apple statement in February, Apple said “We…have seen reports of bad actors attempting to use AirTag for malicious or criminal purposes. Apple has been working closely with various security organizations and law enforcement agencies.”
Fox News has contacted Apple for comment.
