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I think that a key issue in this case isn't just that Apple made a device that could be used for tracking - after all, you could engineer or buy a different tra

I think that a key issue in this case isn't just that Apple made a device that could be used for tracking - after all, you could engineer or buy a different tracking device from a number of vendors - but that its feasibility was massively increased due to a unique Apple asset - its network of iDevices. That is, Apple released a product that was uniquely good at tracking people due to an Apple-specific asset. Slightly less, but still very importantly, there's the fact that by design you can't see if someone is tracking you unless you buy another Apple product, which wasn't an intrinsic engineering limitation, but just a choice that Apple made for their own profit.

varenc 5y ago
Apple released an Android app that lets you check for AirTags separated from their owner near you: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.trackerdetect https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.trac... Of course you have to know about it and it only provides scanning when the app is open instead of constantly doing it in the background like iOS.
dragonsky67 5y ago
Makes me wonder how much liability the owner or participants in the network used for tracking carry if bad things are facilitated by the network.
rootusrootus 5y ago
> its feasibility was massively increased As was the risk of getting jail time if you use it to stalk someone. Something you don't really worry about with a generic GPS tracker. That handy, convenient AirTag will give the police your address.