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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 r

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?
- mcphage 5y ago
  > Does each manufacturer of those also owe you an Android app? Yeah, probably.
  - skinnymuch 5y ago
    What about people who don’t have smartphones or people with old smart phone OSes like Symbian? Doesn’t seem feasible to maintain a dozen apps like WhatsApp used to have. Maybe still has? Across many platforms.
    - mcphage 5y ago
      > What about people who don’t have smartphones or people with old smart phone OSes like Symbian? Doesn’t seem feasible to maintain a dozen apps like WhatsApp used to have. Well, if you're a company that manufactures a product that can be used for spying on people, and you want to make clear that the intended use isn't for spying on people, then I guess you need to ask how badly you want to make clear that it's not a technology for spying on people. In the case if your specific questions, if you don't have a phone with BTLE, then your phone probably can't detect it.
- wongarsu 5y ago
  Before AirTags these devices were somewhat obscure, and without the ability to have their location broadcast by a network of smartphones either a lot bulkier or a lot less capable. Apple widely advertised theirs, turning them from something you see in Breaking Bad to something you buy in the mall. I think it's completely fair to single Apple out here.
  - skinnymuch 5y ago
    Wouldn’t this logic extend? So a person who wants to track you because they heard about this has a good chance of hearing of the beeping and alerts. So then they get a different tracker that doesn’t alert you.

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?

mcphage 5y ago
> Does each manufacturer of those also owe you an Android app? Yeah, probably.
- skinnymuch 5y ago
  What about people who don’t have smartphones or people with old smart phone OSes like Symbian? Doesn’t seem feasible to maintain a dozen apps like WhatsApp used to have. Maybe still has? Across many platforms.
  - mcphage 5y ago
    > What about people who don’t have smartphones or people with old smart phone OSes like Symbian? Doesn’t seem feasible to maintain a dozen apps like WhatsApp used to have. Well, if you're a company that manufactures a product that can be used for spying on people, and you want to make clear that the intended use isn't for spying on people, then I guess you need to ask how badly you want to make clear that it's not a technology for spying on people. In the case if your specific questions, if you don't have a phone with BTLE, then your phone probably can't detect it.
wongarsu 5y ago
Before AirTags these devices were somewhat obscure, and without the ability to have their location broadcast by a network of smartphones either a lot bulkier or a lot less capable. Apple widely advertised theirs, turning them from something you see in Breaking Bad to something you buy in the mall. I think it's completely fair to single Apple out here.
- skinnymuch 5y ago
  Wouldn’t this logic extend? So a person who wants to track you because they heard about this has a good chance of hearing of the beeping and alerts. So then they get a different tracker that doesn’t alert you.