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As an aside: this is exactly what tech bros do not get about the AirTags when we try to get the message across about how bad they are for stalking. Every time I
by chx 5y ago
As an aside: this is exactly what tech bros do not get about the AirTags when we try to get the message across about how bad they are for stalking. Every time I try to bring this up, I am told that Tile, GPS trackers, Samsung I-do-not-even-know-what already exists. Who cares -- the AirTags work, alas they work exceptionally well (precision and battery life wise especially), easily accessible, their existence easily discoverable. They are devastating in this field. Problem is, vulnerable people will use public transit where it's practically guaranteed within a ten meter radius there will be an iPhone, especially so in North America where the iPhone is so prevalent. Meanwhile, the victim might not have an iPhone, just some scuffed Android 'cos that's all they can afford. That Apple released (or didn't recall) them is a blow, that Congress didn't ban them is not really because it's not like we expect Congress to be functional, to protect poor people especially women. But watch a stalking case involving one going bad (= rape, murder) in, say, Germany and then watch the EU bringing down the banhammmer.
- CamperBob2 5y agoI don't want to live in a world full of objects that can't be misused. Maybe you do.
- allisdust 5y agoThere are cheap trackers from aliexpress that can be used in place of airtags. Most include GPS and use mobile internet for sending location updates. May be the airtags made tech based stalking more popular but will it reverse just because Apple takes it back. Also its not like finding where someone lives is a particularly difficult task given the ridiculous amount of information there is online. And as for the public transit example, may be all they have to do is wait till the victim gets down the from the bus to find out where they live ? (I mean it is public transit after all).
- shard 5y agoThe caveat is that in the general population, I would expect that there are vastly more people who can figure out how to configure a AirTag versus buy and configure a tracker off of AliExpress, similar to how the graphical user interface enabled vastly more users than the command line.