4 ms·

Not true, no app is necessary. The AirTag will start beeping once it's been separated from its owner for longer than 8-24 hours.

mrweasel 5y ago
That's going to be hard to hear when driving on the highway, also, the seems like a long time if someone is following you home from a bar. I don't think there's any good way for Apple to fix this. On the other hand, it's been possible to do something similar for a long time, just not this easy, and at this price point. You could suggest that the AirTag disable tracking if it move along with the same phone for more than 15mins, but that's would mean you could steal anything with an AirTag and just keep moving for that period of time. The Android app also isn't helpful, because many don't know that they need to install it, nor should they have to. Nor does it help say elderly people with no smartphone. It's a product where Apple really didn't consider the real world implications. It's a neat device, and I'm sure it's well intended, but it's not fit for the world we're currently living in.
- AdamJacobMuller 5y ago
  > just not this easy You're correct, it's been easier. > at this price point You're right, it's been cheaper. > do something similar for a long time, You're right, it's been similar except that the other methods were far harder for the victim to detect.
- tshaddox 5y ago
  The only significant differences between AirTags and other devices are the fact that the victim’s phone might be used to transmit their own location and the widespread availability and marketing of AirPods compared to other devices. Apple can’t really do much about the latter (other than discontinuing them), but it seems like they could partially address the former by having each phone only transmit the location of non-owned AirTags a single time. This might not work if the victim’s car if in heavy traffic where phones in other cars can transmit the location, but it could at least help in cases where a single car is driving home alone.
- warning26 5y ago
  > It's a product where Apple really didn't consider the real world implications. It's a neat device, and I'm sure it's well intended, but it's not fit for the world we're currently living in. Exactly; it's unfortunate, but this sort of product should really be made illegal, just due to the many ways it can be misused.
  - derefr 5y ago
    This is incredibly inane. The components that make up a GPS tracker are both extremely cheap to produce, too general-purpose to be made illegal themselves, and can be put together to make a GPS tracker with zero technical skill, just by following any of a thousand YouTube videos. (I have one explaining how to make a GPS tracker out of an Arduino on my YouTube home page right now!) All that making GPS tracking devices illegal would do is to eliminate all the positive-sum uses of the technology, while creating literally no additional barrier for people already willing to break the law. It’s the “then only criminals will have guns” thing, but much more clear-cut, because while making your own gun from general-purpose input components requires a machine shop and an unethical person with machining skills to run it (and so making guns illegal really does make guns harder to acquire — though not impossible), making a GPS tracker from general-purpose input components can be done in your own living room without even a soldering iron.
    - ahepp 5y ago
      I think there's some merit to the argument that making tracking products widely available has risks and downsides. For one, there are some important differences between AirTags and a GPS tracker. AirTags don't use GPS (at least, on the tag itself). They're tracked by all the Apple devices around them, and they can use lower power (perhaps even passive) methods. A GPS tracker requires some kind of uplink. A tracker using GPS would need to be larger, and have a shorter battery life for a given size. AirTags are also innocuous to buy and not immediately alarming to see in someone's possession. The argument that anyone is capable of building a GPS tracker in their living room seems unlikely to me. I think this is far beyond the capabilities of 99.9% of people (although it's a fairly straightforward and very fun project for people interested in Arduino). All this said, I am mostly in agreement that the arguments against AirTags seem fairly weak. Especially because I assume Apple has a way to easily determine who placed the AirTag, and that they would face serious consequences.
jeidz 5y ago
I’m sure it’s easy to open the AirTag and pierce the speaker.
- dijit 5y ago
  It is not very easy to do so, no. ifixit has a tear down. https://www.ifixit.com/News/50145/airtag-teardown-part-one-yeah-this-tracks https://www.ifixit.com/News/50145/airtag-teardown-part-one-y...
antgiant 5y ago
Can’t Apple just provide an option that lets you force “stalking” air tags to beep on command? Seems like doing that could essentially solve this whole class of it’s tracking me but I can’t find it stories.
- raldi 5y ago
  That would render them useless as an anti-theft product.
wnevets 5y ago
It used to be after 3 days. It was only changed to hours because of cases like this.

mrweasel 5y ago

That's going to be hard to hear when driving on the highway, also, the seems like a long time if someone is following you home from a bar. I don't think there's any good way for Apple to fix this. On the other hand, it's been possible to do something similar for a long time, just not this easy, and at this price point. You could suggest that the AirTag disable tracking if it move along with the same phone for more than 15mins, but that's would mean you could steal anything with an AirTag and just keep moving for that period of time. The Android app also isn't helpful, because many don't know that they need to install it, nor should they have to. Nor does it help say elderly people with no smartphone. It's a product where Apple really didn't consider the real world implications. It's a neat device, and I'm sure it's well intended, but it's not fit for the world we're currently living in.

AdamJacobMuller 5y ago
> just not this easy You're correct, it's been easier. > at this price point You're right, it's been cheaper. > do something similar for a long time, You're right, it's been similar except that the other methods were far harder for the victim to detect.
tshaddox 5y ago
The only significant differences between AirTags and other devices are the fact that the victim’s phone might be used to transmit their own location and the widespread availability and marketing of AirPods compared to other devices. Apple can’t really do much about the latter (other than discontinuing them), but it seems like they could partially address the former by having each phone only transmit the location of non-owned AirTags a single time. This might not work if the victim’s car if in heavy traffic where phones in other cars can transmit the location, but it could at least help in cases where a single car is driving home alone.
warning26 5y ago
> It's a product where Apple really didn't consider the real world implications. It's a neat device, and I'm sure it's well intended, but it's not fit for the world we're currently living in. Exactly; it's unfortunate, but this sort of product should really be made illegal, just due to the many ways it can be misused.
- derefr 5y ago
  This is incredibly inane. The components that make up a GPS tracker are both extremely cheap to produce, too general-purpose to be made illegal themselves, and can be put together to make a GPS tracker with zero technical skill, just by following any of a thousand YouTube videos. (I have one explaining how to make a GPS tracker out of an Arduino on my YouTube home page right now!) All that making GPS tracking devices illegal would do is to eliminate all the positive-sum uses of the technology, while creating literally no additional barrier for people already willing to break the law. It’s the “then only criminals will have guns” thing, but much more clear-cut, because while making your own gun from general-purpose input components requires a machine shop and an unethical person with machining skills to run it (and so making guns illegal really does make guns harder to acquire — though not impossible), making a GPS tracker from general-purpose input components can be done in your own living room without even a soldering iron.
  - ahepp 5y ago
    I think there's some merit to the argument that making tracking products widely available has risks and downsides. For one, there are some important differences between AirTags and a GPS tracker. AirTags don't use GPS (at least, on the tag itself). They're tracked by all the Apple devices around them, and they can use lower power (perhaps even passive) methods. A GPS tracker requires some kind of uplink. A tracker using GPS would need to be larger, and have a shorter battery life for a given size. AirTags are also innocuous to buy and not immediately alarming to see in someone's possession. The argument that anyone is capable of building a GPS tracker in their living room seems unlikely to me. I think this is far beyond the capabilities of 99.9% of people (although it's a fairly straightforward and very fun project for people interested in Arduino). All this said, I am mostly in agreement that the arguments against AirTags seem fairly weak. Especially because I assume Apple has a way to easily determine who placed the AirTag, and that they would face serious consequences.

jeidz 5y ago

I’m sure it’s easy to open the AirTag and pierce the speaker.

dijit 5y ago
It is not very easy to do so, no. ifixit has a tear down. https://www.ifixit.com/News/50145/airtag-teardown-part-one-yeah-this-tracks https://www.ifixit.com/News/50145/airtag-teardown-part-one-y...

antgiant 5y ago

Can’t Apple just provide an option that lets you force “stalking” air tags to beep on command? Seems like doing that could essentially solve this whole class of it’s tracking me but I can’t find it stories.

raldi 5y ago
That would render them useless as an anti-theft product.

wnevets 5y ago

It used to be after 3 days. It was only changed to hours because of cases like this.