Apple AirTags : Amber Norsworthy lives in Mississippi with her four children. It was just after three o’clock in the afternoon when he arrived home on December 27. You have received a notification on your phone.
“My phone rings like I’ve never heard before,” he said.
The notice told him that an unknown machine had been following his movements.
Ms. Norsworthy, 32, has moved on to the ‘Find My’ app on her iPhone.
“He showed me my whole route. And he said ‘the owner last saw your place at 15:02’ and I said, ‘now, I’m home’.”
And he called the police, telling them he did not know what to do. Also he has not yet found the device, believing it to be somewhere in his car. He says Apple Support was able to confirm that it was Apple AirTags. He says: “I look closely at the world around me.
Apple AirTags
The BBC spoke to six women in the US who claimed to have been tracked using Apple AirTags.
Butt-size devices designed to work with Apple’s ‘Find My’ network to recover lost items. But there have been many reports in the US of devices used to track people.
Apple told the BBC: “We value the safety of our customers and our commitment to Apple AirTags safety and security.”
The company also claims that Apple AirTags have better security features than competitors’ products. However, there is growing evidence that they are being used for criminal activities throughout the US.
Apple launched AirTags last April. Small, smooth and round – and inspired by other tracking products on the market, such as Tile.
connected to loads or keys
The idea is that they can be connected to loads or keys – anything you could lose. You can trace an object to between 0.1ft. But in the wrong hands, they can be used for a different purpose.
“If you create something that is useful for tracking stolen items, then you have created a complete surveillance tool,” said Eva Galperin, Director of Cyber-Security at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
“I personally spoke to a few people who got Apple AirTags in their hands,” he said.
When it released, Apple said “AirTags are designed to track things and not people”.
protect people from being tracked.
People with an iPhone will be notified when unregistered Apple AirTags goes with them. And AirTags can make a lot of noise when separated from the owner for a while.
In December, the company also released an app that Android users can download. Tracker Detect allows users who are not in the iOS app to be notified of corrupt AirTag.
But for a few reasons, most people believe that these measures are not enough.
Anna Mahaney is from Georgia. He was told of an unknown machine after he went to the mall.
Every time I did that, it said it couldn’t connect to the server.” He went to the Apple store, where they suggested he should close his location settings.
When he went to the local police, they told him that there was another similar report in their area. He believes the device is somewhere in his car.
Another said he found an Apple AirTags engraved inside the bag. Some could not find the markers.
They all have questions about whether Apple is doing enough to stop their products from following people.
whisper within 8-24 hours after the device is detected
Apple claims that AirTags will make a whisper within 8-24 hours after the device is detected with an unregistered phone. But it’s easy to register AirTag, and disable it.
Anna Mahaney says Apple Support told her why she probably didn’t get AirTag: “It looks like it could have happened to me that an AirTag owner followed me until I got home, after that. They turned off Apple AirTags.”
This is not the only space available for Apple AirTag protection.
Apple has not said, but Google Play puts this figure at nearly 100,000 accounts. To put that in perspective, there are approximately 3 billion active Android devices worldwide.
Apple says that if you do not have an iPhone, people will be notified of another protection – a loud bang that plays after the discovery of an unwanted Apple AirTags. But there are problems with this.
“AirTags emits a 60 decibel beetle. And it’s really easy to shut it down.” said Eva Galperin. “I can close my mouth by closing my fist. I can close my mouth by placing it between two cushions on the sofa. It’s not easy to feel it by placing it, let’s say, under the hood of your car.”
Critics
And the sound will start playing after eight hours. Critics argue that by then it was too late.
In Bloomingdale Illinois, one of the police officers warned local residents about AirTags: “We thought it was important to inform people in our community that this was a problem.” said Frank Giammarese, director of public safety at Bloomingdale Police.
“Technology is good but unfortunately … some people have misused that.”
It is easy to buy tracking devices online.
Tile responded by “developing a solution” that will identify an unknown device near people.
The controversial argument that Apple AirTags are very good at getting a registered iPhone. The ‘Find My’ network uses almost one billion Apple devices worldwide – along with its Bluetooth connection – to create accurate and remote.
