Photo: Apple
Apple’s AirTag is in so many ways a useful device, but as it typically happens with all great products, people out there discovered its dark side pretty fast.
This is how the AirTag transformed from a device whose purpose is to make it harder to keep track of belongings to a modern weapon that can help stalkers monitor their victims.
The number of stalking incidents involving AirTags has increased substantially since the debut of the device, and in the last few months, police in the United States have warned on multiple occasions that more and more people call 911 because they believed someone was tracking them.
Given its tiny form factor, the AirTag can be hidden pretty much anywhere, including behind the license plates or even right in the car, without the owner noticing it. Fortunately, Apple has developed built-in protections that notify people an AirTag is moving with them, but on the other hand, this still hasn’t stopped the many nefarious uses of the device.
The Harbor House of Central Florida has recently issued a public warning on this front, explaining that the number of stalking cases involving an AirTag is on the rise.
CEO of Harbor House Michelle Sperzel says there’s an easy way to make sure an AirTag isn’t being used to track your every move: regularly checking your belongings, including the purse or the backpack, just to make sure Apple’s GPS tracker isn’t hiding in there. Obviously, this doesn’t help much if the AirTag is planted behind the license plate of your car or right in the cabin, therefore moving with you when you leave the house.
For tech-savvy people out there, this sounds like too much of a hassle, especially because iPhones can notify the owner when an AirTag is discovered nearby. Android users need to download and install a dedicated application to search for the GPS tracker whenever they believe they might be tracked.
The number of stalking incidents involving AirTags has increased substantially since the debut of the device, and in the last few months, police in the United States have warned on multiple occasions that more and more people call 911 because they believed someone was tracking them.
Given its tiny form factor, the AirTag can be hidden pretty much anywhere, including behind the license plates or even right in the car, without the owner noticing it. Fortunately, Apple has developed built-in protections that notify people an AirTag is moving with them, but on the other hand, this still hasn’t stopped the many nefarious uses of the device.
The Harbor House of Central Florida has recently issued a public warning on this front, explaining that the number of stalking cases involving an AirTag is on the rise.
CEO of Harbor House Michelle Sperzel says there’s an easy way to make sure an AirTag isn’t being used to track your every move: regularly checking your belongings, including the purse or the backpack, just to make sure Apple’s GPS tracker isn’t hiding in there. Obviously, this doesn’t help much if the AirTag is planted behind the license plate of your car or right in the cabin, therefore moving with you when you leave the house.
For tech-savvy people out there, this sounds like too much of a hassle, especially because iPhones can notify the owner when an AirTag is discovered nearby. Android users need to download and install a dedicated application to search for the GPS tracker whenever they believe they might be tracked.
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