4 ms·

There’s protection even if you’re standing there naked (except for the AirTag, of course, that has been secretly duct-taped to your buttocks): if the paired pho

There’s protection even if you’re standing there naked (except for the AirTag, of course, that has been secretly duct-taped to your buttocks): if the paired phone isn’t around, the AirTag makes noise. I can confirm this because my spouse is currently out of town, and I’ve grabbed her RV keys a couple of times to put stuff in the RV. And every time I pick the keys up, the AirTag goes off. It eventually shuts up just shy of my threshold of looking for a way to turn it off. (Or I could just make sure to grab my keys instead of hers. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

cianmm 5y ago
You can remove the battery pretty easily thankfully, if it’s annoying you. https://found.apple.com/airtag/disable# https://found.apple.com/airtag/disable#
Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago
It is trivial to damage airtag to disable the dynamic. So a committed stalker will do it without difficulty.
- mwint 5y ago
  At some point, a committed stalker has access to lots of other options for stalking that are easier than the AirTag game.
  - nullc 5y ago
    What other options allow them to embed a tiny almost invisible device in a piece of clothing or a toy and learn its location from anywhere in the world? GPS trackers are larger, require a fair amount of power (big battery), don't work well indoors, and require cellular service.
    - mwint 5y ago
      I was thinking about this - if I were a stalker, I wouldn’t bother with any physical device. I’d just add myself (or an innocuous looking account) to “share my location” on their phone. The non-HN public would probably never notice, and it wouldn’t be too hard to get someone’s unlocked phone (especially in an abusive-relationship scenario)
      - nullc 5y ago
        In cases where you can get access to the phone, sure. But these trackers mean that you can give a stuffed animal to your favorite streaming star at a conference (or sent one in the post to their mailbox service) and then learn where they live... and you can do so with a few minutes effort and a few dollars in cost above the toy. If you know you're at risk you can protect your phone. I think the threat from these apple-powered trackers is much more severe, but it's true that these sorts of risks still exist without them.
UncleEntity 5y ago
> There’s protection even if you’re standing there naked … if the paired phone isn’t around, the AirTag makes noise. Unless someone piggybacks on Apple’s find my network using their own hardware. I read the specification and turned my laptop into an airtag clone one day I was particularly bored, really isn’t complicated.
- dotancohen 5y ago
  > I read the specification and turned my laptop into an airtag clone one day I was particularly bored This is believable. > really isn’t complicated. This isn't.

cianmm 5y ago

You can remove the battery pretty easily thankfully, if it’s annoying you. https://found.apple.com/airtag/disable# https://found.apple.com/airtag/disable#

Andrew_nenakhov 5y ago

It is trivial to damage airtag to disable the dynamic. So a committed stalker will do it without difficulty.

mwint 5y ago
At some point, a committed stalker has access to lots of other options for stalking that are easier than the AirTag game.
- nullc 5y ago
  What other options allow them to embed a tiny almost invisible device in a piece of clothing or a toy and learn its location from anywhere in the world? GPS trackers are larger, require a fair amount of power (big battery), don't work well indoors, and require cellular service.
  - mwint 5y ago
    I was thinking about this - if I were a stalker, I wouldn’t bother with any physical device. I’d just add myself (or an innocuous looking account) to “share my location” on their phone. The non-HN public would probably never notice, and it wouldn’t be too hard to get someone’s unlocked phone (especially in an abusive-relationship scenario)
    - nullc 5y ago
      In cases where you can get access to the phone, sure. But these trackers mean that you can give a stuffed animal to your favorite streaming star at a conference (or sent one in the post to their mailbox service) and then learn where they live... and you can do so with a few minutes effort and a few dollars in cost above the toy. If you know you're at risk you can protect your phone. I think the threat from these apple-powered trackers is much more severe, but it's true that these sorts of risks still exist without them.

UncleEntity 5y ago

> There’s protection even if you’re standing there naked … if the paired phone isn’t around, the AirTag makes noise. Unless someone piggybacks on Apple’s find my network using their own hardware. I read the specification and turned my laptop into an airtag clone one day I was particularly bored, really isn’t complicated.

dotancohen 5y ago
> I read the specification and turned my laptop into an airtag clone one day I was particularly bored This is believable. > really isn’t complicated. This isn't.