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Apple Introduces AirTag

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Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#131

Post by matthew-wegner »

freeflight wrote: post #57
WORMS_EAT_WORMS wrote: post #9

If I was evil and stuck these to ex-girlfriend/boyfriend car or something, illegal? Edit: Downvoters. I am not doing this obviously. Am asking as this is the clear abuse I see. Tracking people without permission. I see this as being a weird legal thing we hear about down the road.

I also originally wondered about that, but they use Bluetooth for tracking. Doesn't mention what version, but even with Bluetooth 5.0 the maximum range would be around 400 m/1.000 ft under ideal circumstances. So the tracking would only work if you actively pursued the target to stay in range. Probably much more practical to go for an actual GPS-tracker, magnetic versions of those can be bought on Amazon for like 50…

Any iOS device will relay the AirTag’s beacons to iCloud—-not just your devices.

If you lose a tracked device, you can see its location if a random person’s Internet-enabled iDevice hears any of its chirps. The stranger’s device doing the relaying is unable to decrypt the contents; it just forwards the data to Apple.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#132

Post by hyperpl »

p49k wrote: post #112
technofiend wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's cool and all, but how do they handle a trainload of people all going the same direction sitting near each other? I mean public transportation is still a thing.

I assume “over time” means for a long enough period to eliminate the possibility that you’re on a train with other people.

Some train rides are quite long

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#133

Post by toxik »

gruez wrote: post #108
crazygringo wrote: post #71

I thought one of the big use cases for this was to track stolen items, like a backpack or maybe even a bicycle. But the "anti-stalking" feature will notify someone if an AirTag they don't own appears to be traveling with them. Does this render it useless for anti-theft, then? Since it will just notify a thief that the bike they just stole is being tracked, and they can look for the AirTag and throw it in the nearest…

>Does this render it useless for anti-theft, then? It's hard to make tracking devices hidden. They need to phone home, so that means they emit a signal. Someone can sniff that out using a RF detector. that's why tracking devices tend to be integrated into the product itself (eg. into the ECU for cars, or part of the CPU/motherboard for computers).

A bike thief isn’t going to go rf sniffing

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#134

Post by vagrantJin »

habibur wrote: post #16

> AirTag is designed for over a year’s worth of battery life with everyday use. The CR2032 battery is user-replaceable and widely available. Replacement batteries are sold separately. That's the piece of information I wanted to know first. Devices like this can be built, but those can't run on batteries for a reasonable time frame. Apple made it practical.

> Apple made it practical.

Ofcourse. User replaceable battery sold seperately made practical by Apple Inc.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#135

Post by gruez »

shuckles wrote: post #84
function_seven wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My speculation: The iOS device keeps seeing a random AirTag in close proximity. Even as the ID rotates, it's still about 2m away, and continues to be 2m away as you move. It doesn't know who it belongs to, but it's probably the same physical device, because it keeps going to wherever you're going. That's a different scenario than the evil store owner who wants to track their customers. In that case, it's just a rando…

The random ID has a fixed suffix in the spec, so you can infer that it’s the same AirTag if you see the same suffix across multiple rotations.

how long is the suffix? I can't see it being effective for both anti-stalking (ie. someone placing a tag on you without your consent) and anti-tracking (ie. shops/malls using your tag to follow you around).

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#136

Post by jrochkind1 »

> If AirTag is separated from its owner and out of Bluetooth range, the Find My network can help track it down. The Find My network is approaching a billion Apple devices and can detect Bluetooth signals from a lost AirTag and relay the location back to its owner, all in the background, anonymously and privately.

I had no idea that's how "Find My Phone" worked. I guess I hadn't thought about it.

I wonder what the privacy implications are, how do they (or do they) stop the "Find My network" from tracking units any time all the time?

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#137

Post by gruez »

_blz2 wrote: post #64
t0mas88 wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're being down voted because this is described on the page. If a tag not linked to your phone travels with you frequently while being away from its owner you'll get a notification.

What if the person you're tracking doesn't have an apple device?

from the article:

>And even if users don’t have an iOS device, an AirTag separated from its owner for an extended period of time will play a sound when moved to draw attention to it.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#138

Post by vokep »

qwertox wrote: post #115

So with this tiny $25 thingy my neighbor can track me in real-time after gluing it to my car? Nice. No, honestly, this is a bit concerning, isn't it?

Its apparently designed with that in mind. I'm not convinced though, give it 3 months before a few stories out there where someone's been stalked with one of these with the beeper disabled. I'd like to be wrong, guess we'll see.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#139

Post by Rebelgecko »

mlindner wrote: post #129
WORMS_EAT_WORMS wrote: post #9

If I was evil and stuck these to ex-girlfriend/boyfriend car or something, illegal? Edit: Downvoters. I am not doing this obviously. Am asking as this is the clear abuse I see. Tracking people without permission. I see this as being a weird legal thing we hear about down the road.

>And even if users don’t have an iOS device, an AirTag separated from its owner for an extended period of time will play a sound when moved to draw attention to it. So even non-Apple users will get alerted if they're being tracked with it.

Does this mean that if your phone dies or you turn it off during a movie your keys will randomly beep at you?

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#140

Post by jrochkind1 »

toxik wrote: post #133
gruez wrote: post #108

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Does this render it useless for anti-theft, then? It's hard to make tracking devices hidden. They need to phone home, so that means they emit a signal. Someone can sniff that out using a RF detector. that's why tracking devices tend to be integrated into the product itself (eg. into the ECU for cars, or part of the CPU/motherboard for computers).

A bike thief isn’t going to go rf sniffing

not yet. If a significant portion of otherwise theft-friendly bikes have trackers, I don't see why they wouldn't learn to, someone would probably even commoditize the sniffing tech to sell to other thiefs.
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