I think they’ve done a pretty admirable job in trying to solve the privacy issues. The same thing that makes the product so effective is the same thing that makes it problematic, and I don’t really see a way to solve it. The TILE has the same issues with none of the best effort solutions, it’s just less of an abuse vector because it’s a worse product. These articles of “this can be misused” feels like really low hanging fruit.
Are there any solutions or ideas that are actually being suggested here?
I’m saying this specific power, you’re extrapolating that to mean I think this means all power instead of starting the discussion about what makes this power different that it deserves different treatment. Taking someone’s opinion and arguing against an extreme extrapolation of it doesn’t leave much room for discussion.
In what way have they made an actual attempt to solve the privacy issues?
If they were actually trying to solve the privacy issues, the precise location would get more and more vague depending how far you are from the tag. If they were actually trying to solve the privacy issues they’d delay/throttle position updates.
These things don’t solve any real problems, short of losing your keys/purse. If it’s attached to a stolen item, the police probably don’t care and confronting the thief is probably a great way to get killed or end up getting yourself arrested until the cops can sort out the he-said-she-said.
Now if only they would extend that consideration to include the wast majority of people on this planet that do not own nor use any Apple products.
How many Android users are being stalked without knowing about it?
And yes, there are FOSS solutions on F-droid that partially solve this. But normal users wont know how to find them, and the onus is on Apple to supply an app with these kinds of features given that they are producing these trackers.
/edit: I just now see mentions of an official Apple detector app that does just what I mentioned (had completely hone by me). While I'd rather that there were no trackers like these made, this will at least do for now.
/edit2: It seems this official app requires users to actively scan for trackers rather than doing so from the background. That makes this a very weak attempt at appeasing the worries of non Apple users. Then the FOSS Airguard app is much better.
While I’m not super keen on this myself, if somebody stole something valuable enough to make or break my quality of life I would take a stab at repossessing it. If the police don’t care about the stolen item in the first place why would they care about me stealing it back? The thief thought it would be worth it to take the risk of stealing so why can’t I come to the same conclusion?
People can lose things like their vehicle and consequently their jobs and consequently their families.
Here are some ideas, perhaps someone can improve it:
- There's no reason for an airtag to be on the move + the iPhone owner in a separate location. A lost device is almost always are a desk/table/... Problem is the edge case when stolen. I'm not sure yet how to identify different behavior between stolen/stalking.
- "stalking behavior" should be different from "lost device" behavior. Eg. Constantly looking to the app and following the airtag early
Perhaps differentiating between state: stolen/lost.
Where stolen should be redirected to an authority figure and lost is a signal beeping when you're nearby.
I had a crazy ex use an Airtag to stalk me. I went to the Apple store to complain, and was told by the aggressive 20-something Apple employee I “probably deserved it”, that she has people come in every day to make complaints about Airtags and that if I didn’t leave or buy something, she’d call security.
I was there to find out if there was a way to find and disable the Airtag without buying an Apple product. It turns out there is no way, you are literally forced to pay Apple money to get someone to stop stalking you. I found out because my ex sent me screenshots of the Airtag location using Apple’s app admitting to using it to track my location.
Apparently, this is not even enough for Apple or the aggressive employees that work there. Incredibly, this seems like a common occurrence and one they have used to exploit and funnel into getting people to buy more Apple products. The whole thing felt like a shakedown, and went from 0 to “I’ll call security” very fast. I maintained my calm and cool, but once she realized I wasn’t there to buy something, the situation quickly escalated.
It’s sinister and surreal, looking up at the floating glass staircase I couldn’t help feel like I was in the fortress of some kind of supervillain, a faceless corporation who has run out of ways to monetize, before I was quickly escorted out by an aggressive security guard.
Apple will gladly help you disable the tags (and sell you some of your own to perpetuate the cycle), but you’ll need the latest iDevice, and a subscription to iCloud with an active credit card on file to do it.
> I was there to find out if there was a way to find and disable the Airtag without buying an Apple product. It turns out there is no way, you are literally forced to pay Apple money to get someone to stop stalking you.
Apple made an android app to track AirTags. It was news everywhere a few weeks ago:
I was wondering this myself. If you can locate and get hands on the physical device, why not just toss it in a river or something? Hit it with a hammer?
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[ 2.5 ms ] story [ 73.2 ms ] threadAre there any solutions or ideas that are actually being suggested here?
If they were actually trying to solve the privacy issues, the precise location would get more and more vague depending how far you are from the tag. If they were actually trying to solve the privacy issues they’d delay/throttle position updates.
These things don’t solve any real problems, short of losing your keys/purse. If it’s attached to a stolen item, the police probably don’t care and confronting the thief is probably a great way to get killed or end up getting yourself arrested until the cops can sort out the he-said-she-said.
> These things don’t solve any real problems, short of losing your keys/purse
In other words a very common and frustrating occurrence for many many people.
How many Android users are being stalked without knowing about it?
And yes, there are FOSS solutions on F-droid that partially solve this. But normal users wont know how to find them, and the onus is on Apple to supply an app with these kinds of features given that they are producing these trackers.
/edit: I just now see mentions of an official Apple detector app that does just what I mentioned (had completely hone by me). While I'd rather that there were no trackers like these made, this will at least do for now.
/edit2: It seems this official app requires users to actively scan for trackers rather than doing so from the background. That makes this a very weak attempt at appeasing the worries of non Apple users. Then the FOSS Airguard app is much better.
Honestly, your comment reads like it is written by an Apple fan who is incapable of empathising with others.
As per the author's own comments to one such review:
> The app detects AirTags when they appear in their separated state i.e separated from any owner device for more than 15 minutes.
Background processing on Samsung devices can also be severly borked at times due to custom policies from the OEM.
Having thoroughly tested this my self, as well as looked over the code I am satisfied it does what it says on the can.
People can lose things like their vehicle and consequently their jobs and consequently their families.
Here are some ideas, perhaps someone can improve it:
- There's no reason for an airtag to be on the move + the iPhone owner in a separate location. A lost device is almost always are a desk/table/... Problem is the edge case when stolen. I'm not sure yet how to identify different behavior between stolen/stalking.
- "stalking behavior" should be different from "lost device" behavior. Eg. Constantly looking to the app and following the airtag early
Perhaps differentiating between state: stolen/lost.
Where stolen should be redirected to an authority figure and lost is a signal beeping when you're nearby.
But yeah, it's probably too much work.
Apparently, this is not even enough for Apple or the aggressive employees that work there. Incredibly, this seems like a common occurrence and one they have used to exploit and funnel into getting people to buy more Apple products. The whole thing felt like a shakedown, and went from 0 to “I’ll call security” very fast. I maintained my calm and cool, but once she realized I wasn’t there to buy something, the situation quickly escalated.
It’s sinister and surreal, looking up at the floating glass staircase I couldn’t help feel like I was in the fortress of some kind of supervillain, a faceless corporation who has run out of ways to monetize, before I was quickly escorted out by an aggressive security guard.
Apple will gladly help you disable the tags (and sell you some of your own to perpetuate the cycle), but you’ll need the latest iDevice, and a subscription to iCloud with an active credit card on file to do it.
Apple made an android app to track AirTags. It was news everywhere a few weeks ago:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.apple.trac...