9 ms·

Woman discovers AirTag on her vehicle after receiving iPhone alert

64 points by glitcher 5y ago

blakesterz 5y ago
"Sexton said tracking someone and their location without their permission is criminal and with the holidays approaching more crimes like this are starting to appear." I assume I'm just missing something obvious, but why is tracking someone without permission happening more now that the holidays are approaching? I can't come up with anything that seems likely.
- L_226 5y ago
  At a guess, custody battles.
- drcongo 5y ago
  I was scratching my head at that too.
- sigio 5y ago
  Maybe potential burglars waiting for people to leave home for vacation / longer visits away from home.
- unglaublich 5y ago
  ... because people buy expensive stuff and then they get robbed when driving home.
- gwbas1c 5y ago
  A current popular crime scheme is to scope people at affluent shopping areas, and then follow them home. I suspect the lady had one of the nicer cars in the parking lot. That being said, the story itself is fishy. Why would someone duct tape one of these in plain sight?
  - 8f2ab37a-ed6c 5y ago
    Interesting, seems like that fear would push people in those tax brackets to not leave their gates communities and just shop online, instead of exposing themselves to that sort of threat.
  - rubylark 5y ago
    It makes sense if the person who put the tracker there was someone who knew the woman and wanted to scare her (which it seems they succeeded in as she didn't give her name in the article for fear of her safety). My guess would be an abusive ex that wanted her to know they were watching her.
- rubylark 5y ago
  I can think of two possibilities: domestic abuse and murder rates tend to spike around the holidays for whatever reason, so tracking/stalking goes along with that. Or it's just that the tech to do the tracking is on sale.
- Levitz 5y ago
  I guess it depends on where you live, but it's usual to visit family and friends who live somewhat far away to celebrate the holidays with them. If you know where the family car is in the holidays, then you know where the family is in the holidays, and if that's more than 300km away you can properly rob their house.
  - blitzar 5y ago
    Easier to check their instagram ... Checked in at the Business Class Lounge - On way to Cancun (Back in a Week!!)
  - wodenokoto 5y ago
    I think it’s more of a “is my girlfriend really going back to her parents for Christmas?” thing.
- blitzar 5y ago
  Feels like a correlation / causation error - global mobility is really only just getting back to normal and these methods of 'attack' are on their way from zero 6 months ago.
account-5 5y ago
Apple needs to be held accountable for this, it's the only way to stop stuff like this happening. She'd never have know were she an android user. How many people has this happened to without their knowledge?
- blitzar 5y ago
  > Apple needs to be held accountable for this So you want to congratulate them for this I assume? As that would be the "consequence" of this event should we hold them "accountable" for the outcome.
  - account-5 5y ago
    Why would I want to congratulate them? Apple are making it extremely easy for anyone to track you without your knowledge. If you're then the victim of a crime due to that as far as I'm concerned apple is complicit. I can see this harming victims of domestic violence.
    - bparrish0 5y ago
      There are many other tracking devices available. This is the only one that notifies the target. If one of those other devices had been used then this lady would have never known she was being tracked.
- kgermino 5y ago
  >Apple needs to be held accountable for this How? There's tons of these tracker products out there. Are we going to make the entire category illegal?
  - account-5 5y ago
    There's tons of trackers that can use any nearby iPhone (one of the most popular phones in the world) to keep tabs on you? No need to GPS?
    - 5y ago
jdpedrie 5y ago
There's mention below of a forthcoming Android app to alert people that they're being followed by AirTags, but no mention I saw of any protection for those who simply do not own a smartphone. The thought that people who likely have chosen to purposely opt out entirely from the always-connected ecosystem are now subject to unwanted tracking with no way to opt out or even be informed is frankly despicable.
- jcoder 5y ago
  What sort of solution would you suggest
  - jdpedrie 5y ago
    That there is no solution to be suggested is sort of the point.
  - yeetaccount2 5y ago
    If we go along with the idea that gun makers are at least partly responsible for school shootings*, then let’s make Apple at least partly responsible for stalkers using their products to stalk. Let them figure out the rest, including solutions for people without any electronics. Maybe they need to give everyone on request a device to detect them, but even then you have to know what Airtags are and know to (and how to) request this device, so it’s still an imperfect solution. Maybe they ought to do a background check and have Airtags registered to your name, that you’re legally responsible for. This sounds crazy now, but it may be the discussion society is having in 10 or 20 years. At the least, they shouldn’t release an app to detect these. They should release a white paper so everyone can have their own implementation of Airtag detection. As for me, I’m fully prepared to see my ass bearing down on a toilet as I’m about to take a shit in a toilet paper advertisement. We need strong privacy laws. Technology has upended everyday life and there’s very little room left for you to not be monitored by stalkers^W marketers^W the rest of the world. * I’m not saying this is a good idea, but it looks like Remington might legally bear some liability for Sandy Hook.
    - colejohnson66 5y ago
carbocation 5y ago
On the one hand, it's good that she got the alert. On the other, it sounds like the alert was not timely enough to allow her to prevent the AirTag from disclosing her home location.
- pc86 5y ago
  This seems more luck than anything else, right? It's just a function of how long it takes the software to determine which phones to alert, and it's more or less random whether or not someone will go home during that interim period before they get notified.
  - carbocation 5y ago
    I actually don’t think this is particularly salient to my point. Whatever mechanism Apple has chosen, and whatever degree of luck Apple is relying on, that mechanism did not work in time to protect this person’s home location from being disclosed.
changoplatanero 5y ago
Probably pretty easy to catch whoever it was, right?
- blakesterz 5y ago
  Yeah, good question. Apple made it really easy to catch an AirTag near you, but did they make it easy to then track that AirTag back to the owner?
  - blitzar 5y ago
    https://osxdaily.com/2021/07/08/found-lost-airtag-find-owner/ https://osxdaily.com/2021/07/08/found-lost-airtag-find-owner... > If you’re curious to find who’s the owner of the AirTag that you have in hand, you can use your iPhone to view this information. Don’t have an iPhone? You can still use your NFC-enabled smartphone to see contact details.
    - notreallyserio 5y ago
      > You’ll only be able to view all this information if the owner turns on Lost Mode for the AirTag. Also, you can only see the contact information that they chose to share with you while putting it in Lost Mode.
et2o 5y ago
Seems like Apple should be easily able to identify the original owner of the AirTag. Do they do this if the police request this [or substitute whatever lawful mechanism]? I assume this kind of tracking activity is criminal but am not sure.
- cromka 5y ago
  Part of the innovative FindMy protocol so widely discussed here a while ago is that no other party can identify the owner of the device except the owner – or those with whom the owner shared the device location. EDIT: Well, as others pointed out, indeed having physical access to a device changes things. The serial number is rather tied to an iCloud account, so Apple, if subpoenaed, should be able to identify its owner (but not their location).
  - javagram 5y ago
    While the protocol may not expose it, the device itself could have a serial number that might be associated with a specific user? EDIT: that seems to be exactly the case, see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29277376 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29277376
    - cromka 5y ago
      That doesn't mean Apple knows who the owner is. In that case, the owner of the device is anonymously notified. So with the situation in speech, you'd notify the criminal that you found their device, probably the last thing you'd want to do in this situation. That having said, the serial number is rather tied to an iCloud account, so Apple should be able to identify its owner (but not their location).
  - tantalor 5y ago
    Can Apple? Give a warrant, that is
    - blitzar 5y ago
      > If you’re curious to find who’s the owner of the AirTag that you have in hand, you can use your iPhone to view this information. Don’t have an iPhone? You can still use your NFC-enabled smartphone to see contact details. https://osxdaily.com/2021/07/08/found-lost-airtag-find-owner/ https://osxdaily.com/2021/07/08/found-lost-airtag-find-owner... I think people are mixing identifying the owner from the tracking beacon communications and identifying it from the physical device / serial number.
Havoc 5y ago
Seems Apple called it right. When they announced it I thought it's a bit silly to put countermeasures in place for that. Reality disappoints.
- LordKeren 5y ago
  I’m glad they added the counter measures, but I largely think the concerns around AirTags are ignoring that hiding a tracker on a vehicle is not in any way a new novel concept. It’s trivial to buy a device to do this and hide it on a car, and they are purposefully designed to not be found. AirTags are probably one of the worst ways to accomplish this type of illicit behaviour
susodapop 5y ago
Will an android phone alert me if I’m being followed?
- moepstar 5y ago
  No, it will not...
- dgan 5y ago
  To reach parity Google should obviously propose a tiny tracking device, and only allow Android users to disarm it. Now peace will be restored.
- catlikesshrimp 5y ago
  The airtag technology uses peoples iphones without authorization as part of the airtag mesh. If there are no iphones nearby, the airtag doesn't work.
- qlm 5y ago
  No, but the AirTag will beep incessantly and loudly if it detects that it is moving without the owner nearby, as somebody who borrowed my backpack informed me.
- LeifCarrotson 5y ago
  By an AirTag? Obviously not, but it also won't disclose your own location to an AirTag owner unless someone with an iPhone is near you. I have an Android phone and keep a Tile tracker in my wallet and on my keys, the number of Tile users is much lower than the number of iPhone users, but it can do the same. You'd have to know I was a Tile user, though, to get your own Tile to track me, but if you did, it would not alert me regardless of whether I used an iPhone or an Android device. Will an iPhone alert you if you're being tracked by a Tracki/Tive/Lightbug GPS+cellular tracker? These are common in commercial shipping, but easily accessible for consumers too Here's [1] for $16 (requires $20/mo monthly fee) and [2] is a bring-your-own-SIM off-brand device for $20. Or, heck, they could just get an actual Android phone (either just an old one they have in an electronics drawer, or they could buy a used low-end model for $50), plug it into a 12V charger in the trunk, and set up location sharing. To be clear, I think Apple made a reasonable effort to do the right thing here. The difference between Tile and AirTags is that the AirTag has a scale factor and pervasiveness that enables 'crimes of opportunity'. It's infeasible to prevent determined criminals: if you have to plan purchasing it, and signing up for the subscription with your personal details, and wait for the shipment, and install it, most people will think twice before following through with that whole sequence. On the other hand, if coworker A is preparing a laptop bag for coworker B to take home, and is fidgeting with the AirTag on their keychain while they do it, their impulse control might not be sufficient to prevent them from slipping in the tracker that they already have on their person. [1]: https://www.amazon.com/Tracki/dp/B07N4DHFZM https://www.amazon.com/Tracki/dp/B07N4DHFZM [2]: https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Tracker/dp/B09DX9CNCJ https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Tracker/dp/B09DX9CNCJ
tyingq 5y ago
The unfortunate lesson that is probably learned is to only stalk Android users with AirTags.
- brummm 5y ago
  That's not how AirTags work, though.
  - havkd 5y ago
    You don’t get notifications if you use Android.
    - eatbitseveryday 5y ago
      You don’t get location updates without Apple devices nearby.
      - tyingq 5y ago
        Like all the cars she drives by, people near her parked car, etc? Google searches say any apple device within around ~10 meters.
- AutumnCurtain 5y ago
  Only stalk people in areas where there are only Androids, I suppose, which is pretty much nowhere in US cities at least
  - wongarsu 5y ago
    iPhones are unusually popular in English speaking countries. Globally it's more like 75% Android, 25% iPhone, with some places being 95% Android. But really the important question is if your target notices the stalking, and for that they either need an iPhone or travel with someone with an iPhone.
  - tyingq 5y ago
tallanvor 5y ago
It's nice of Apple to have iPhones alert you in cases like this, but it's a major issue that there's no easy way for an Android user to get the same notification.
- saturdaysaint 5y ago
  Not sure when it's coming, but they announced an Android app when the AirTags were announced.
- coob 5y ago
  Android phones aren't being used to report the location of the AirTag so there's no point.
  - cure 5y ago
    But any other nearby iPhone is...
  - fervor 5y ago
    Lol
  - rtkwe 5y ago
    Except the tag is still being tracked by any iPhones it drives/travels near so it still functions as a tracker just slightly more intermittently.
  - zeroxfe 5y ago
    I don't understand this. Of course there's a point -- if there's an AirTag following me around, I'd like to know. Having an Android app just for that would be really useful (and not so hard to build.)
    - pwinnski 5y ago
      There are non-Apple-branded tracking devices available, have been for many years. Does each manufacturer of those also owe you an Android app?
joejohns 5y ago
This is so creepy, good thing that she spotted it before it's too late.
WaitWaitWha 5y ago
I do not own an Apple phone. Does the app to track or report on AirTags automagically get installed? If not, how did she detect it? Asking because in the article "At the time, she did not even know what an Air Tag was until she received a notification that she was being tracked." this implies that she did not use, therefore did not need the Air Tag app, so then how did she detect it?
- SirHound 5y ago
  All iPhones track airtags via the OS
- acdha 5y ago
  It's built-in to iOS 14.5 and later: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212227 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212227 > If you see this message on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS or iPadOS 14.5 or later, an AirTag that has been separated from the person who registered it is traveling with you, and the owner might be able to see its location. It's possible that the AirTag might be attached to an item you're borrowing.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- codyogden 5y ago
  Apple put anti-tracking measures in place which will alert any iPhone owner if they have an unknown AirTag nearby that seems to be following their location. The AirTag connects to the Find My network (via Bluetooth) which allows it to broadcast its location anonymously via any nearby iPhone owner.
catlikesshrimp 5y ago
Airtag technology should be illegal. The woman was being tracked BY HER OWN IPHONE. Remember it is the iphone providing the geolocation and the internet connection. The airtag technology uses peoples iphones without authorization as part of the airtag mesh.
- Bud 5y ago
  It should be illegal even though she got a warning almost immediately, and even though she would have gotten a 2nd kind of warning almost immediately via the AirTag beeping constantly, even if she didn't have an iPhone? Why? Seems to me there are plenty of privacy protections in place, here.
- webmobdev 5y ago
  > Airtag technology should be illegal. Yes, it should be - or rather mesh networking should be. Apple has deliberately enabled this by default, so that they can better spy on you (for example, now even if you turn off location services, Apple can still track you using other iPhone users near you - all this is deliberately designed to reduce our privacy.)
8bitsrule 5y ago
>Sexton said tracking someone and their location without their permission is criminal and with the holidays approaching more crimes like this.... Ironic, since IIRC Apple phones were the very first to follow people's locations without their permission.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
SylvieLorxu 5y ago
To all Android users: there is an Open Source app to detect AirTags. Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.seemoo.at_tracking_detection.release https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.seemoo.at_t... F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/packages/de.seemoo.at_tracking_detection/ https://f-droid.org/packages/de.seemoo.at_tracking_detection... Source code: https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard
- Tijdreiziger 5y ago
  Nice, installed it right away.
  - kreeben 5y ago
    I threw myself at it. I now have an always running background app with battery optimization turned off and with location privileges that will drain my battery but I guess that's just the price Android users have to pay in order for iPhone users to enjoy their AirTagging.
ericmcer 5y ago
This seems more like a jealous spouse or something. A real sinister third party whose intent was to rob her could use something more discreet than a consumer friendly device that is explicitly made to try and prevent this kind of bad press.
up6w6 5y ago
https://github.com/seemoo-lab/openhaystack/ https://github.com/seemoo-lab/openhaystack/ As the protocol is already reverse engineered you can actually just DIY a tracker even more unnoticeable than Airtags that generates new keys periodically to trick the Iphones into thinking it's a new Airtag that never saw before.
solarkraft 5y ago
Wow, they work exactly as advertised. Crazy stuff.
apricot13 5y ago
Weirdly I had the notification about an airtag found moving with me a few days ago. I know the airtag is there or at least I know of one thats there! For some reason it's not on my "find my" under the family account. Also I've never had the notification come up when my partner is around only when I was on my own.
bitcuration 5y ago
When airtag was initially released, it only beeps after the airtag left the owner for 3 days, later Apple updated it to the following. It beeps after the thief gets to somewhere that thief frequently stays with, such as home, school, office etc.. I found this out with my kid as there is no difference between thief took your item, or stalking someone, as oppose to tracking a family member who's aware of it. It functions the same way. In the case of tracking a family member or a friend, it beeps in kid's classroom or office which is quite annoying even though the person tracked is fully aware of the tracking. With a simple update, I'd hop Apple allows a family member or who's aware of the tracking but not the owner of the airtag be able to tap the "Moving with you.." message and acknowledge it so the warning message and aritag beeping doesn't continue yet not disabling the tracking (it currently allows to disable the tracking). Not sure why Apple hasn't thought about it or didn't want to do that, as Apple PR insisted that airtag is for tracking items not human but many have found airtag used in tracking human (e.g. family, friend) for safety reason more convenient and cheaper than an Apple watch.

64 points by glitcher 5y ago

"Sexton said tracking someone and their location without their permission is criminal and with the holidays approaching more crimes like this are starting to appear." I assume I'm just missing something obvious, but why is tracking someone without permission happening more now that the holidays are approaching? I can't come up with anything that seems likely.

L_226 5y ago
At a guess, custody battles.
drcongo 5y ago
I was scratching my head at that too.
sigio 5y ago
Maybe potential burglars waiting for people to leave home for vacation / longer visits away from home.
unglaublich 5y ago
... because people buy expensive stuff and then they get robbed when driving home.
gwbas1c 5y ago
A current popular crime scheme is to scope people at affluent shopping areas, and then follow them home. I suspect the lady had one of the nicer cars in the parking lot. That being said, the story itself is fishy. Why would someone duct tape one of these in plain sight?
- 8f2ab37a-ed6c 5y ago
  Interesting, seems like that fear would push people in those tax brackets to not leave their gates communities and just shop online, instead of exposing themselves to that sort of threat.
- rubylark 5y ago
  It makes sense if the person who put the tracker there was someone who knew the woman and wanted to scare her (which it seems they succeeded in as she didn't give her name in the article for fear of her safety). My guess would be an abusive ex that wanted her to know they were watching her.
rubylark 5y ago
I can think of two possibilities: domestic abuse and murder rates tend to spike around the holidays for whatever reason, so tracking/stalking goes along with that. Or it's just that the tech to do the tracking is on sale.
Levitz 5y ago
I guess it depends on where you live, but it's usual to visit family and friends who live somewhat far away to celebrate the holidays with them. If you know where the family car is in the holidays, then you know where the family is in the holidays, and if that's more than 300km away you can properly rob their house.
- blitzar 5y ago
  Easier to check their instagram ... Checked in at the Business Class Lounge - On way to Cancun (Back in a Week!!)
- wodenokoto 5y ago
  I think it’s more of a “is my girlfriend really going back to her parents for Christmas?” thing.
blitzar 5y ago
Feels like a correlation / causation error - global mobility is really only just getting back to normal and these methods of 'attack' are on their way from zero 6 months ago.

account-5 5y ago

Apple needs to be held accountable for this, it's the only way to stop stuff like this happening. She'd never have know were she an android user. How many people has this happened to without their knowledge?

blitzar 5y ago
> Apple needs to be held accountable for this So you want to congratulate them for this I assume? As that would be the "consequence" of this event should we hold them "accountable" for the outcome.
- account-5 5y ago
  Why would I want to congratulate them? Apple are making it extremely easy for anyone to track you without your knowledge. If you're then the victim of a crime due to that as far as I'm concerned apple is complicit. I can see this harming victims of domestic violence.
  - bparrish0 5y ago
    There are many other tracking devices available. This is the only one that notifies the target. If one of those other devices had been used then this lady would have never known she was being tracked.
kgermino 5y ago
>Apple needs to be held accountable for this How? There's tons of these tracker products out there. Are we going to make the entire category illegal?
- account-5 5y ago
  There's tons of trackers that can use any nearby iPhone (one of the most popular phones in the world) to keep tabs on you? No need to GPS?
  - 5y ago

jdpedrie 5y ago

There's mention below of a forthcoming Android app to alert people that they're being followed by AirTags, but no mention I saw of any protection for those who simply do not own a smartphone. The thought that people who likely have chosen to purposely opt out entirely from the always-connected ecosystem are now subject to unwanted tracking with no way to opt out or even be informed is frankly despicable.

jcoder 5y ago
What sort of solution would you suggest
- jdpedrie 5y ago
  That there is no solution to be suggested is sort of the point.
- yeetaccount2 5y ago
  If we go along with the idea that gun makers are at least partly responsible for school shootings*, then let’s make Apple at least partly responsible for stalkers using their products to stalk. Let them figure out the rest, including solutions for people without any electronics. Maybe they need to give everyone on request a device to detect them, but even then you have to know what Airtags are and know to (and how to) request this device, so it’s still an imperfect solution. Maybe they ought to do a background check and have Airtags registered to your name, that you’re legally responsible for. This sounds crazy now, but it may be the discussion society is having in 10 or 20 years. At the least, they shouldn’t release an app to detect these. They should release a white paper so everyone can have their own implementation of Airtag detection. As for me, I’m fully prepared to see my ass bearing down on a toilet as I’m about to take a shit in a toilet paper advertisement. We need strong privacy laws. Technology has upended everyday life and there’s very little room left for you to not be monitored by stalkers^W marketers^W the rest of the world. * I’m not saying this is a good idea, but it looks like Remington might legally bear some liability for Sandy Hook.
  - colejohnson66 5y ago

carbocation 5y ago

On the one hand, it's good that she got the alert. On the other, it sounds like the alert was not timely enough to allow her to prevent the AirTag from disclosing her home location.

pc86 5y ago
This seems more luck than anything else, right? It's just a function of how long it takes the software to determine which phones to alert, and it's more or less random whether or not someone will go home during that interim period before they get notified.
- carbocation 5y ago
  I actually don’t think this is particularly salient to my point. Whatever mechanism Apple has chosen, and whatever degree of luck Apple is relying on, that mechanism did not work in time to protect this person’s home location from being disclosed.

changoplatanero 5y ago

Probably pretty easy to catch whoever it was, right?

blakesterz 5y ago
Yeah, good question. Apple made it really easy to catch an AirTag near you, but did they make it easy to then track that AirTag back to the owner?
- blitzar 5y ago
  https://osxdaily.com/2021/07/08/found-lost-airtag-find-owner/ https://osxdaily.com/2021/07/08/found-lost-airtag-find-owner... > If you’re curious to find who’s the owner of the AirTag that you have in hand, you can use your iPhone to view this information. Don’t have an iPhone? You can still use your NFC-enabled smartphone to see contact details.
  - notreallyserio 5y ago
    > You’ll only be able to view all this information if the owner turns on Lost Mode for the AirTag. Also, you can only see the contact information that they chose to share with you while putting it in Lost Mode.

et2o 5y ago

Seems like Apple should be easily able to identify the original owner of the AirTag. Do they do this if the police request this [or substitute whatever lawful mechanism]? I assume this kind of tracking activity is criminal but am not sure.

cromka 5y ago
Part of the innovative FindMy protocol so widely discussed here a while ago is that no other party can identify the owner of the device except the owner – or those with whom the owner shared the device location. EDIT: Well, as others pointed out, indeed having physical access to a device changes things. The serial number is rather tied to an iCloud account, so Apple, if subpoenaed, should be able to identify its owner (but not their location).
- javagram 5y ago
  While the protocol may not expose it, the device itself could have a serial number that might be associated with a specific user? EDIT: that seems to be exactly the case, see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29277376 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29277376
  - cromka 5y ago
    That doesn't mean Apple knows who the owner is. In that case, the owner of the device is anonymously notified. So with the situation in speech, you'd notify the criminal that you found their device, probably the last thing you'd want to do in this situation. That having said, the serial number is rather tied to an iCloud account, so Apple should be able to identify its owner (but not their location).
- tantalor 5y ago
  Can Apple? Give a warrant, that is
  - blitzar 5y ago
    > If you’re curious to find who’s the owner of the AirTag that you have in hand, you can use your iPhone to view this information. Don’t have an iPhone? You can still use your NFC-enabled smartphone to see contact details. https://osxdaily.com/2021/07/08/found-lost-airtag-find-owner/ https://osxdaily.com/2021/07/08/found-lost-airtag-find-owner... I think people are mixing identifying the owner from the tracking beacon communications and identifying it from the physical device / serial number.

Havoc 5y ago

Seems Apple called it right. When they announced it I thought it's a bit silly to put countermeasures in place for that. Reality disappoints.

LordKeren 5y ago
I’m glad they added the counter measures, but I largely think the concerns around AirTags are ignoring that hiding a tracker on a vehicle is not in any way a new novel concept. It’s trivial to buy a device to do this and hide it on a car, and they are purposefully designed to not be found. AirTags are probably one of the worst ways to accomplish this type of illicit behaviour

susodapop 5y ago

Will an android phone alert me if I’m being followed?

moepstar 5y ago
No, it will not...
dgan 5y ago
To reach parity Google should obviously propose a tiny tracking device, and only allow Android users to disarm it. Now peace will be restored.
catlikesshrimp 5y ago
The airtag technology uses peoples iphones without authorization as part of the airtag mesh. If there are no iphones nearby, the airtag doesn't work.
qlm 5y ago
No, but the AirTag will beep incessantly and loudly if it detects that it is moving without the owner nearby, as somebody who borrowed my backpack informed me.
LeifCarrotson 5y ago
By an AirTag? Obviously not, but it also won't disclose your own location to an AirTag owner unless someone with an iPhone is near you. I have an Android phone and keep a Tile tracker in my wallet and on my keys, the number of Tile users is much lower than the number of iPhone users, but it can do the same. You'd have to know I was a Tile user, though, to get your own Tile to track me, but if you did, it would not alert me regardless of whether I used an iPhone or an Android device. Will an iPhone alert you if you're being tracked by a Tracki/Tive/Lightbug GPS+cellular tracker? These are common in commercial shipping, but easily accessible for consumers too Here's [1] for $16 (requires $20/mo monthly fee) and [2] is a bring-your-own-SIM off-brand device for $20. Or, heck, they could just get an actual Android phone (either just an old one they have in an electronics drawer, or they could buy a used low-end model for $50), plug it into a 12V charger in the trunk, and set up location sharing. To be clear, I think Apple made a reasonable effort to do the right thing here. The difference between Tile and AirTags is that the AirTag has a scale factor and pervasiveness that enables 'crimes of opportunity'. It's infeasible to prevent determined criminals: if you have to plan purchasing it, and signing up for the subscription with your personal details, and wait for the shipment, and install it, most people will think twice before following through with that whole sequence. On the other hand, if coworker A is preparing a laptop bag for coworker B to take home, and is fidgeting with the AirTag on their keychain while they do it, their impulse control might not be sufficient to prevent them from slipping in the tracker that they already have on their person. [1]: https://www.amazon.com/Tracki/dp/B07N4DHFZM https://www.amazon.com/Tracki/dp/B07N4DHFZM [2]: https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Tracker/dp/B09DX9CNCJ https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Tracker/dp/B09DX9CNCJ

tyingq 5y ago

The unfortunate lesson that is probably learned is to only stalk Android users with AirTags.

brummm 5y ago
That's not how AirTags work, though.
- havkd 5y ago
  You don’t get notifications if you use Android.
  - eatbitseveryday 5y ago
    You don’t get location updates without Apple devices nearby.
    - tyingq 5y ago
      Like all the cars she drives by, people near her parked car, etc? Google searches say any apple device within around ~10 meters.
AutumnCurtain 5y ago
Only stalk people in areas where there are only Androids, I suppose, which is pretty much nowhere in US cities at least
- wongarsu 5y ago
  iPhones are unusually popular in English speaking countries. Globally it's more like 75% Android, 25% iPhone, with some places being 95% Android. But really the important question is if your target notices the stalking, and for that they either need an iPhone or travel with someone with an iPhone.
- tyingq 5y ago

tallanvor 5y ago

It's nice of Apple to have iPhones alert you in cases like this, but it's a major issue that there's no easy way for an Android user to get the same notification.

saturdaysaint 5y ago
Not sure when it's coming, but they announced an Android app when the AirTags were announced.
coob 5y ago
Android phones aren't being used to report the location of the AirTag so there's no point.
- cure 5y ago
  But any other nearby iPhone is...
- fervor 5y ago
  Lol
- rtkwe 5y ago
  Except the tag is still being tracked by any iPhones it drives/travels near so it still functions as a tracker just slightly more intermittently.
- zeroxfe 5y ago
  I don't understand this. Of course there's a point -- if there's an AirTag following me around, I'd like to know. Having an Android app just for that would be really useful (and not so hard to build.)
  - pwinnski 5y ago
    There are non-Apple-branded tracking devices available, have been for many years. Does each manufacturer of those also owe you an Android app?

joejohns 5y ago

This is so creepy, good thing that she spotted it before it's too late.

WaitWaitWha 5y ago

I do not own an Apple phone. Does the app to track or report on AirTags automagically get installed? If not, how did she detect it? Asking because in the article "At the time, she did not even know what an Air Tag was until she received a notification that she was being tracked." this implies that she did not use, therefore did not need the Air Tag app, so then how did she detect it?

SirHound 5y ago
All iPhones track airtags via the OS
acdha 5y ago
It's built-in to iOS 14.5 and later: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212227 https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212227 > If you see this message on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch running iOS or iPadOS 14.5 or later, an AirTag that has been separated from the person who registered it is traveling with you, and the owner might be able to see its location. It's possible that the AirTag might be attached to an item you're borrowing.
deleted 5y ago
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codyogden 5y ago
Apple put anti-tracking measures in place which will alert any iPhone owner if they have an unknown AirTag nearby that seems to be following their location. The AirTag connects to the Find My network (via Bluetooth) which allows it to broadcast its location anonymously via any nearby iPhone owner.

catlikesshrimp 5y ago

Airtag technology should be illegal. The woman was being tracked BY HER OWN IPHONE. Remember it is the iphone providing the geolocation and the internet connection. The airtag technology uses peoples iphones without authorization as part of the airtag mesh.

Bud 5y ago
It should be illegal even though she got a warning almost immediately, and even though she would have gotten a 2nd kind of warning almost immediately via the AirTag beeping constantly, even if she didn't have an iPhone? Why? Seems to me there are plenty of privacy protections in place, here.
webmobdev 5y ago
> Airtag technology should be illegal. Yes, it should be - or rather mesh networking should be. Apple has deliberately enabled this by default, so that they can better spy on you (for example, now even if you turn off location services, Apple can still track you using other iPhone users near you - all this is deliberately designed to reduce our privacy.)

8bitsrule 5y ago

>Sexton said tracking someone and their location without their permission is criminal and with the holidays approaching more crimes like this.... Ironic, since IIRC Apple phones were the very first to follow people's locations without their permission.

deleted 5y ago

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SylvieLorxu 5y ago

To all Android users: there is an Open Source app to detect AirTags. Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.seemoo.at_tracking_detection.release https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.seemoo.at_t... F-Droid: https://f-droid.org/packages/de.seemoo.at_tracking_detection/ https://f-droid.org/packages/de.seemoo.at_tracking_detection... Source code: https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard https://github.com/seemoo-lab/AirGuard

Tijdreiziger 5y ago
Nice, installed it right away.
- kreeben 5y ago
  I threw myself at it. I now have an always running background app with battery optimization turned off and with location privileges that will drain my battery but I guess that's just the price Android users have to pay in order for iPhone users to enjoy their AirTagging.

ericmcer 5y ago

This seems more like a jealous spouse or something. A real sinister third party whose intent was to rob her could use something more discreet than a consumer friendly device that is explicitly made to try and prevent this kind of bad press.

up6w6 5y ago

https://github.com/seemoo-lab/openhaystack/ https://github.com/seemoo-lab/openhaystack/ As the protocol is already reverse engineered you can actually just DIY a tracker even more unnoticeable than Airtags that generates new keys periodically to trick the Iphones into thinking it's a new Airtag that never saw before.

solarkraft 5y ago

Wow, they work exactly as advertised. Crazy stuff.

apricot13 5y ago

Weirdly I had the notification about an airtag found moving with me a few days ago. I know the airtag is there or at least I know of one thats there! For some reason it's not on my "find my" under the family account. Also I've never had the notification come up when my partner is around only when I was on my own.

bitcuration 5y ago

When airtag was initially released, it only beeps after the airtag left the owner for 3 days, later Apple updated it to the following. It beeps after the thief gets to somewhere that thief frequently stays with, such as home, school, office etc.. I found this out with my kid as there is no difference between thief took your item, or stalking someone, as oppose to tracking a family member who's aware of it. It functions the same way. In the case of tracking a family member or a friend, it beeps in kid's classroom or office which is quite annoying even though the person tracked is fully aware of the tracking. With a simple update, I'd hop Apple allows a family member or who's aware of the tracking but not the owner of the airtag be able to tap the "Moving with you.." message and acknowledge it so the warning message and aritag beeping doesn't continue yet not disabling the tracking (it currently allows to disable the tracking). Not sure why Apple hasn't thought about it or didn't want to do that, as Apple PR insisted that airtag is for tracking items not human but many have found airtag used in tracking human (e.g. family, friend) for safety reason more convenient and cheaper than an Apple watch.