Apple AirTag: Haven for stalkers, hell for women?

The Apple AirTag has found use for stalkers in multiple isolated events concerning women and their safety.

Apple AirTag trackers are used by stalkers and car thieves to commit crime. (Apple)

Technology becomes better and better, but it is always up to us to use it responsibly, or create them in a way that doesn't harm someone else. Multiple isolated incidents have highlighted this for Apple's ₹3,199 location tracker, called AirTag. The AirTag has been around since early 2021 and was meant to help you locate your belongings. However, it's found a new use for talkers and thieves!

The AirTag has proven to be a safety and privacy risk once again after repeatedly incidents in the US, where the Apple Find My network is fed by hundreds of iPhones in any given area. One of them involves a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Brooks Nader, who was actively tracked for up to five hours.

AirTag is now a woman stalker?

In this isolated incident, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model Brooks Naders says she found a stray Apple AirTag tracker on her. Naders was in a bar when someone may have slipped the AirTag tracker in her coat. Throughout her time at the bar and while walking to her home, her iPhone kept notifying of a stray AirTag tracker on her.

“I never thought anything like this could happen to me and it did. If this does happen to you and you find an AirTag, immediately call the police and Apple to track the serial number back to the perpetrator,” says the model in her TikTok video. “Ladies, check your bag, coat, pockets, and surroundings. Disturbed isn't even the word,” she added.

AirTag also a car stealing gadget

Other than stalking celebrities, the AirTag has also found love from car thieves. Several victims in the US have lost their high-end vehicles to thieves after the latter tracked the cars using an AirTag. People have repeatedly found AirTag trackers stuck under bumpers, license plates, under seats, wheel wells, and various vulnerable areas.

Reports have often said that car thieves do this cleverly in parking lots and then use their iPhones to track down the vehicles location. When the victim leaves it on the driveways for the night, these car thieves come to collect both the tracker as well as the entire car.

Is Apple even listening?

Apple keeps on saying repeatedly that its AirTag offers several ways to enhance privacy of people and has taken steps to ensure it covers a wider range of people. For example, your iPhone notifying you of a stray AirTag is part of the privacy feature. Similarly, Apple released an app for Android users to track stray AirTag trackers on themselves and report it to authorities.

Despite all these methods, the AirTag continues to excel in stalking and breaching someone else's privacy. Several affected people have since then urged Apple to recall these devices and even discontinue selling them.

However, Apple is yet to figure out the issue and hence, all of us out in the world need to be cautious. If you have an iPhone, keep an eye on notifications that tell you of unknow AirTag trackers around you for a long time. Android users should download and keep the Tracker Detect app on their phones to stay safe of the same.