Ask HN: Why do AirTags need camera access?

1 points by jmole 5y ago ↗ HN

Has anyone else seen this? When you try to find an Airtag, iPhone will complain if there is not enough light in the scene, and the camera is clearly running in the background. What are they doing with this information?

2 comments

[ 5.4 ms ] story [ 17.5 ms ] thread

sybercecurity 5y ago ↗

One legit reason may be some sort of AR feature (that may not be fully baked). Not sure how precise that would be (don't have any AirTags to check).

https://www.wired.com/story/apple-airtags-future-of-augmente...

orbz 5y ago ↗

It’s most likely for the AirTag AR functionality to show where the tag is located.