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Unfortunately, as with many devices, Airtags can be used for bad as well as good. I own a number of them and have attached them to things that are valuable to

Unfortunately, as with many devices, Airtags can be used for bad as well as good. I own a number of them and have attached them to things that are valuable to me, and not just financially. The car is the prime example, but I've also attached one to my dog's harness. He's a rescue Fox Terrier with a prey drive like a missile and no recall skills whatsoever (yet): if he slips his lead somehow we have at least some slight chance of finding where he's run off to. Likewise my waist-mounted hiking bags - if I lose the one that holds my keys or first-aid kit on a long walk I could be in big trouble when I get to my destination. Sadly, the Guardian doesn't mention the positive aspects...

terrio 4y ago
- Cederfjard 4y ago
  The GP literally listed several valid usecases?
  - terrio 4y ago
    Valid in comparison to all those apple phones knowing where things are. I never really lost luggage. I never lost anything. How would our radio look like if it becomes the norm to put tags from everyone onto everything?
- blackoil 4y ago
  > And how did you survive before they existed Like with the most of technology, uncomfortably. I survived before phones, mobile and the Internet. I survived without AC, Car and so many similar things, personally. Now I prefer them and get real benefit from them.
  - terrio 4y ago
    That's a very big Stretch from an airtag to a car.
ghaff 4y ago
The criticism is essentially that AirTags are a better tracker for many use cases than existed previously. So I'm not sure what the request here is. Put in mitigations? Well, that's pretty much been done. Decide that this technology is too dangerous to exist? Good luck with that--especially given the positive uses.
ttyprintk 4y ago
Some of the comments in this thread point to violent stories beginning with these types of trackers. I don’t think we’ll hear about comparatively dramatic happy endings facilitated by quick geolocation. Your examples. Thwarted child abductions, via a tracker in a car seat. Critical medicine shipments. I’d argue these are a boon for ordinary people. And ordinary people with some geolocation info who need help from the authorities. And prosecutors following the owner of a discovered tracker.
- giaour 4y ago
  I’m sorry to be blunt, but unless you have specific reasons to be concerned about custodial kidnapping, “foil baby snatchers by putting an AirTag in your car seat” is nonsense. So is using this form of consumer tech for shipment tracking, for that matter. More robust trackers have long been in widespread use by the shipping industry.
  - ttyprintk 4y ago
    Maybe people arrive at specific reasons before they decide to use an airtag? “Unless you have specific reasons” is only reassuring the kinds of people who don’t.
    - giaour 4y ago
      The scenario in which an AirTag in a car seat would help prevent a child abduction is extremely specific: the child would have to already be in the car seat and not subsequently moved therefrom, and one or more of the kidnappers would need to have their iPhones on (since the tag uses the network connections of nearby iDevices), in service range, and either not trigger or ignore anti-stalking alerts. I can kinda see how those requirements might fit a custodial kidnapping, but only if the partner didn’t know about the tags. Stranger kidnappings (which are very rare anyway) would likely not. A GPS tracker with a cell connection would serve you much better in either scenario. Those are less popular with criminals because they can often be traced back to the purchaser, but they are more reliable and won’t accidentally alert the kidnappers because they tripped an anti-stalking monitor.

terrio 4y ago

Cederfjard 4y ago
The GP literally listed several valid usecases?
- terrio 4y ago
  Valid in comparison to all those apple phones knowing where things are. I never really lost luggage. I never lost anything. How would our radio look like if it becomes the norm to put tags from everyone onto everything?
blackoil 4y ago
> And how did you survive before they existed Like with the most of technology, uncomfortably. I survived before phones, mobile and the Internet. I survived without AC, Car and so many similar things, personally. Now I prefer them and get real benefit from them.
- terrio 4y ago
  That's a very big Stretch from an airtag to a car.

ghaff 4y ago

The criticism is essentially that AirTags are a better tracker for many use cases than existed previously. So I'm not sure what the request here is. Put in mitigations? Well, that's pretty much been done. Decide that this technology is too dangerous to exist? Good luck with that--especially given the positive uses.

ttyprintk 4y ago

Some of the comments in this thread point to violent stories beginning with these types of trackers. I don’t think we’ll hear about comparatively dramatic happy endings facilitated by quick geolocation. Your examples. Thwarted child abductions, via a tracker in a car seat. Critical medicine shipments. I’d argue these are a boon for ordinary people. And ordinary people with some geolocation info who need help from the authorities. And prosecutors following the owner of a discovered tracker.

giaour 4y ago
I’m sorry to be blunt, but unless you have specific reasons to be concerned about custodial kidnapping, “foil baby snatchers by putting an AirTag in your car seat” is nonsense. So is using this form of consumer tech for shipment tracking, for that matter. More robust trackers have long been in widespread use by the shipping industry.
- ttyprintk 4y ago
  Maybe people arrive at specific reasons before they decide to use an airtag? “Unless you have specific reasons” is only reassuring the kinds of people who don’t.
  - giaour 4y ago
    The scenario in which an AirTag in a car seat would help prevent a child abduction is extremely specific: the child would have to already be in the car seat and not subsequently moved therefrom, and one or more of the kidnappers would need to have their iPhones on (since the tag uses the network connections of nearby iDevices), in service range, and either not trigger or ignore anti-stalking alerts. I can kinda see how those requirements might fit a custodial kidnapping, but only if the partner didn’t know about the tags. Stranger kidnappings (which are very rare anyway) would likely not. A GPS tracker with a cell connection would serve you much better in either scenario. Those are less popular with criminals because they can often be traced back to the purchaser, but they are more reliable and won’t accidentally alert the kidnappers because they tripped an anti-stalking monitor.