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Meanwhile, you can get a cheap GPS tracker for the price of an AirTag or two…

Syonyk 5y ago
And if you want it to report out, it has to have an active cell plan, and the power consumption is rather radically higher than "years on a button cell," so the device is bigger, it needs a clear enough view of the sky to get a GPS signal, etc. They're an awful lot less useful and less discreet. Again, not impossible by any means, but certainly quite a bit less convenient than an AirTag with a removed speaker.
- badwolf 5y ago
  Or just get a Tile, that will ping any Amazon echo or Ring doorbell it goes near.
- olliej 5y ago
  I just checked and all the reports of misuse so far don’t seem to be “for months at a time”. I can also get a prepaid sim with very little identification and there’s no direct link from an arbitrary gps device to the person who used it. I think there was a brief surge in people abusing them because they thought AirTags were untraceable, which they very explicitly are not. As apple says in the article they can directly go from an AirTag to the account that owns it.
  - vineyardmike 5y ago
    > I just checked and all the reports of misuse so far don’t seem to be “for months at a time”. Its also only like 6-8 months old at this point.
- drdaeman 5y ago
  I don't think the typical issue is that someone can maliciously track some other person specifically for years. Longevity of the tracker is an added benefit, not what makes it different. Honestly, in my personal opinion I feel that only thing that's really different is the company's notoriety. It's no fun to bash Tile (people just don't have any beef with them), but kinda fun when it's Apple. And that they've actually sent out a viral idea ahead of product release focusing attention on this aspect (so, naturally, it echoes back).
  - bitexploder 5y ago
    That was kind of my point. People can buy these GPS trackers for the same price and have a stealthy surreptitious tracker. What’s new is Apple made so omg, better freak out and write eleventy-one angsty articles about them. In this case I can’t even muster an eyeroll at how silly it is.
    - rootusrootus 5y ago
      If I were actually interested in tracking someone for nefarious reasons, I absolutely would not use an AirTag. I mean, it has a serial number that will lead the police right back to me. I'd use something that doesn't have my name on it.

And if you want it to report out, it has to have an active cell plan, and the power consumption is rather radically higher than "years on a button cell," so the device is bigger, it needs a clear enough view of the sky to get a GPS signal, etc. They're an awful lot less useful and less discreet. Again, not impossible by any means, but certainly quite a bit less convenient than an AirTag with a removed speaker.

badwolf 5y ago
Or just get a Tile, that will ping any Amazon echo or Ring doorbell it goes near.
olliej 5y ago
I just checked and all the reports of misuse so far don’t seem to be “for months at a time”. I can also get a prepaid sim with very little identification and there’s no direct link from an arbitrary gps device to the person who used it. I think there was a brief surge in people abusing them because they thought AirTags were untraceable, which they very explicitly are not. As apple says in the article they can directly go from an AirTag to the account that owns it.
- vineyardmike 5y ago
  > I just checked and all the reports of misuse so far don’t seem to be “for months at a time”. Its also only like 6-8 months old at this point.
drdaeman 5y ago
I don't think the typical issue is that someone can maliciously track some other person specifically for years. Longevity of the tracker is an added benefit, not what makes it different. Honestly, in my personal opinion I feel that only thing that's really different is the company's notoriety. It's no fun to bash Tile (people just don't have any beef with them), but kinda fun when it's Apple. And that they've actually sent out a viral idea ahead of product release focusing attention on this aspect (so, naturally, it echoes back).
- bitexploder 5y ago
  That was kind of my point. People can buy these GPS trackers for the same price and have a stealthy surreptitious tracker. What’s new is Apple made so omg, better freak out and write eleventy-one angsty articles about them. In this case I can’t even muster an eyeroll at how silly it is.
  - rootusrootus 5y ago
    If I were actually interested in tracking someone for nefarious reasons, I absolutely would not use an AirTag. I mean, it has a serial number that will lead the police right back to me. I'd use something that doesn't have my name on it.