Apple Watch helps police locate and catch Brazilian thief

Apple’s smartphones and wearable devices might be some of the most coveted devices across the world, but that doesn’t mean one can simply steal them from another user, as a thief in Brazil recently discovered. The police arrested him after the Apple Watch he stole helped them track him down.

According to AppleInsider, the Apple Watch was stolen from a man’s home in Santa Maria last Saturday. However, the assailants who attacked him did not just steal his Apple Watch, they also took his BMW X4, according to a Brazilian website MacMagazine.

Also read: Apple's Find My will alert users of unknown trackers ‘moving with you’

When the owner of the device went to the Civil Police of Rio Grande do Sol, they tracked the Apple Watch, probably using the built-in ‘Find My’ app that is preloaded on to every iOS and macOS device. The victim would presumably have logged into another Apple device in order to be able to track the lost Apple Watch.

MacMagazine says that one of the thieves were tracked down within one day, to a house where he was staying with his sister. The man had reported that he was assaulted by men wearing Brazilian army uniforms, which were found at the thieves residence. However, the report does not confirm whether the man was a member of the army or not.

Read more: Biker used Google’s location data for tracking rides and that turned him into a burglary suspect

Apple’s capable ‘Find My’ app is about to get a lot smarter with the arrival of a new feature that can help you stop a stalker, family member or possessive partner from using a simple tracking device to keep tabs on you and your location. Called Item Safety Alerts, the feature informs an iPhone or iPad user if there is an unknown device that has been added to the Find My app which is also moving along with you, and should arrive with the upcoming iOS 145 update for iPhones and iPads.