Apple AirTags are tiny locators designed so that valuables are never lost or easily misplaced. These devices were designed to be attached to your wallet or house keys in order to have these valuable possessions always located. However, there are those who have used them with bad intentions.
Two women have decided to take legal action in the United States against Apple after their ex-partners have used AirTags to secretly control them and know where they are at all times. They ask the apple company for compensation for unspecified damages.
Harassment and mistreatment
AirTags hidden in car tires and backpacks
An Airtag connected to the iPhone
Steven Heap
Lauren Hughes, one of the harassed women, has claimed that her ex-boyfriend has used AirTags to track her after they broke up. According to the complaint, Hughes received a notification on her iPhone that an unknown AirTag had been tracking her.
After receiving this notice, he began to review all his belongings. She found nothing until she looked in the car. Apparently, his ex-partner had attached an AirTag to one of the wheels of the car. In addition, Hughes received threatening voicemails and abusive posts on his social media accounts.
Read also Writing
In parallel, the second complainant, who has identified herself as Jane Doe, has stated that she found an AirTag in her son’s backpack after a “contested divorce”. A few days after removing the device, she returned to find a new one.
Apple has recalled that its devices are designed to locate valuables
Apple
It is not the first time that Apple AirTags have been used for these purposes. The complaint itself includes some known cases of harassment using these devices. For example, he recalls the death of an Indiana woman who was followed and run over by her partner believing she was having an affair with someone else. Another woman located was shot by her partner in Akron.
Lax measures against stalkers
The most common use of the Airtag is as a key ring or attached to the zipper of backpacks
Getty Images
“Priced at just $29, it has become the weapon of choice for harassers and abusers,” the complaint alleges. The two complainants understand that the company run by Tim Cook has put a dangerous device up for sale. For this reason, they consider that Apple “did not adequately disclose the risks associated with AirTag and affirmatively misled the public and the press regarding those risks.”
On the other hand, they understand that these devices fail to deter harassers and that they have also done nothing to try to fix the bugs that can be exploited. The steps Apple has taken, the complaint says, are “woefully inadequate and do little, if anything, to promptly warn people if they are being tracked.”
Users receive notifications from AirTags
Apple
Among the measures taken by Apple to ensure proper use of the devices, is an alert that notifies users who configure an AirTag of something very basic: harassment is illegal and that security forces can access the personal information of AirTag owners.
Read also Francesc Bracero
Also, AirTags can be used by Android users, despite the fact that the support is much more rudimentary. This leads to huge security differences between iOS and Android users: “There is a huge imbalance between the protections available to iOS/Apple users and those available to people with Android devices, leaving Android users virtually defenseless against tracking and stalking by means of an AirTag”.
An ineffective guide
From Apple, before the various complaints of harassment, they claimed that “AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or other people’s property.” Therefore, they condemned “in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products.”
In parallel, Apple published the User Guide for personal safety, designed to “help customers who experience abuse, stalking or harassment.” The guide, which is general in nature, includes a section on staying safe with AirTags and other accessories. However, it does not give any specific advice to avoid harassment, but merely explains how to receive notifications that alert you to unwanted monitoring.
