AirTags are inexpensive and compact devices at the size of a large coin. They are designed to be attached to personal items such as backpacks or keys, and the location is displayed on a smartphone app to help locate the property in the event of loss. The problem is that sometimes people use AirTag to track other people.

What happened?

The two women filed the complaint, claiming that Apple’s technology made it easier for abusers to find and terrorize victims.

• ex-boyfriend of one of the plaintiffs placed an AirTag on the wheel of his car and she was able to find out where she had moved to escape his persecution.
• Another victim stated in the text of the case that the man she lived with was separate. tracked movements by placing an AirTag in her child’s backpack.

Women also give a few similar examples that even led to murders. In one, an ex-boyfriend used the device to track down and shoot a woman in Akron, Ohio. In another, in Indianapolis, Indiana, a woman hid an AirTag in her ex-boyfriend’s car, followed him to a bar, and crushed it.

Apple is responding

The manufacturer is aware of this problem and is trying to fix it. When Apple launched the AirTag in April 2021, the company touted “tracking protection” – the tag said to users about Apple devices such as iPhones and MacBooks if the AirTag were within Bluetooth range of about 9 meters for an extended period of time. It included voice prompts to inform. time interval.

That didn’t help much, so after repeated complaints from privacy advocates, the company stepped up its defense earlier this year by shortening the duration of notifications and also notifying users of Apple devices that someone else’s AirTag is not registered to them. , “moves with you.” Apple has also released an app for Android users that allows them to scan the area around them for AirTags. Did it help? Not quite – none of this has alleviated concerns about stealth devices.

While Apple has built protections into the AirTag product, they are unfortunately insufficient and do little to immediately alert people if they are being tracked.
– states the case.

Plaintiffs accuse the company of negligently releasing a dangerous device and are seeking an as-yet-undetermined monetary compensation from the court. They seek to represent the interests of other people “who are exposed and at risk of persecution by this dangerous product”.

Apple has yet to comment on the case.