{"id":412,"date":"2022-03-02T14:40:12","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T14:40:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/02\/airtags-are-dangerous-heres-how-apple-could-fix-them\/"},"modified":"2022-03-02T14:40:13","modified_gmt":"2022-03-02T14:40:13","slug":"airtags-are-dangerous-heres-how-apple-could-fix-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/scienceandnerds.com\/2022\/03\/02\/airtags-are-dangerous-heres-how-apple-could-fix-them\/","title":{"rendered":"AirTags are dangerous \u2014 here\u2019s how Apple could fix them"},"content":{"rendered":"

Source: https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2022\/3\/1\/22947917\/airtags-privacy-security-stalking-solutions<\/a>
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When Apple launched the AirTag last spring, many marveled at how effectively the coin-shaped trackers could locate lost items. But many early reviewers also sounded an alarm: an AirTag\u2019s incredible accuracy also makes it an effective stalking tool. We\u2019ve spent the past month testing these devices to see their potential risks for ourselves. <\/p>\n

There\u2019s no question that AirTags can be \u2014 and have been \u2014 abused. Sports Illustrated<\/em> model Brooks Nader recently reported<\/a> finding a stranger\u2019s AirTag in her coat. One Connecticut man was arrested for placing an AirTag on his ex-girlfriend\u2019s car<\/a>; a Texas man admitted to doing the same to his estranged wife<\/a> last month. A New York Times<\/em> reporter successfully used them to track her husband\u2019s every move<\/a> (for a story). <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s also true that AirTags don\u2019t exist in a vacuum. The item tracker market is filled with competitors \u2014 many of which lack the anti-abuse safeguards that AirTags have. In this investigation, we set out to identify two things: the unique risks that AirTags pose and the specific steps Apple could take to make them safer.<\/p>\n

The prospect of key trackers being used to stalk people exploded into the tech media sphere last April when AirTags were released and reviewed<\/a> for the first time<\/a>. But the problem of tracker stalking long predates AirTags, and a dedicated network of advocates has been working on the issue for years. <\/p>\n

Erica Olsen, director of technology safety at the National Network to End Domestic Violence, sees AirTags as a fairly small part of a much larger conversation. \u201cFive years prior to AirTags, we started hearing about tiny location trackers being found in teddy bears that had been ripped open and then sewn back up, in the lining of purses,\u201d Olsen says. \u201cWe\u2019ve been hearing from advocates for years about them.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it does seem, from both our testing and our conversations with advocates, that AirTags pose a somewhat unique risk. As we discovered, the sheer accuracy of Apple\u2019s network could allow an abuser to pinpoint a victim\u2019s location more precisely than they could with, say, a Tile. <\/p>\n

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