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Apple Introduces AirTag

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Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#211

Post by zxcvgm »

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…

I too, found the anti-stalking features might hinder the use of AirTags for locating intentionally stolen items: (1) it has a removable battery, and also (2) "someone can tap [the tag] with their iPhone or NFC-capable device and instructions will guide them to disable the unknown AirTag".

The anti-stalking feature also seems to contradict its privacy features:

> Bluetooth signal identifiers transmitted by AirTag rotate frequently to prevent unwanted location tracking.

But also, in the next sentence:

> iOS devices can also detect an AirTag that isn’t with its owner, and notify the user if an unknown AirTag is seen to be traveling with them from place to place over time.

If an AirTag is supposed to be "anonymous", then how can a user be informed that this tag has been seen with them over an extended period? This would mean that there is a way to identify a particular AirTag in the first place.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#212

Post by danShumway »

astrange wrote: post #175
passivate wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not the OP, but I would turn it off simply to conserve battery life. I'm still rocking a 6s, and my phone gets slower and doesn't last as long with every update. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the updates, but I'd also like to maximize the battery life.

It doesn't use any battery life compared to turning the screen on.

But do you leave your phone's screen turned on 24x7?

I buy that there are more expensive things you can do with your phone, but even if turning off Bluetooth is only giving you back a small percentage of your total battery usage, that might genuinely be noticeable on an older device with an older battery.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#213

Post by Eric_WVGG »

msoad wrote: post #202

I can't find the information on its dimensions. I don't have keys anymore (smart lock and Tesla) so I only need this for my wallet. Will this make my wallet too thick?

It’ll fit in a "Costanza wallet", but will make anything minimal pretty uncomfortable… try the AR view

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#214

Post by diebeforei485 »

technofiend wrote: post #98
dbt00 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

From the link: "iOS devices can also detect an AirTag that isn’t with its owner, and notify the user if an unknown AirTag is seen to be traveling with them from place to place over time."

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.

They mentioned this exact scenario on their website[1]

> Of course, if you happen to be with a friend who has an AirTag, or on a train with a whole bunch of people with AirTag, don’t worry. These alerts are triggered only when an AirTag is separated from its owner.

1. https://www.apple.com/airtag/

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#215

Post by OkGoDoIt »

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…

I wonder how this works in practice? My main use for an AirTag would be to put on my cat’s collar. But if it starts beeping randomly that’s going to be a problem.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#216

Post by 6gvONxR4sf7o »

capableweb wrote: post #179
llbeansandrice wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Apple successfully changed that I feel like this gives far too much credit to Apple. Any one company can "think differently" but Apple shouldn't get the blame for all of the other companies following suit. Remember the ads Samsung ran before axing the headphone jack a year later?

We can just blame all the companies for doing X, we don't have to be so selective. Apple and Samsung both removes user replaceable batteries? Well, screw both of them then.

Amen. I'm tired of HN discussions trying to find a single cause/blame when you can often spread the blame pretty well around.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#217

Post by tpmoney »

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?

A search for “gps tracker” shows numerous small, inexpensive devices that can do the same thing. The cat is already out of the bag on the “crazy person wants to stalk me” devices.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#218

Post by ehsankia »

Hitton wrote: post #157
crazygringo wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The article isn't entirely clear, but suggests that it will use the network of iOS devices around it and that the AirTag will start beeping as well. Seems like it should be able to detect that it's always traveling together with a single Android phone's WiFi signal, for example.

I wonder how hard would it be to disable beeping. There is probably a speaker that can be drilled through.

That kinda kills the whole purpose of the tag, which is to beep when you lose it. I guess you can still kinda find it with the UWB chip on your iPhone, but that's much harder than by sound.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#219

Post by dangoor »

andrewla wrote: post #207

What I need is the inverse of this -- my wife is forever losing her phone around the house, and I need a button on the wall that you can press to activate "find my phone" mode and play a beep on it. EDIT: Thank you for all the suggestions! I'm aware that this is possible from another iPhone or iWatch or iPad -- this is the current workflow. Use my phone or take the ipad away from the kids to play the beep. Is a butto…

Apple Watch can do this, as long as your wife would wear the watch.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#220

Post by duskwuff »

amelius wrote: post #180
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…

> But the "anti-stalking" feature will notify someone if an AirTag they don't own appears to be traveling with them. Another case of your device working against your interests. I don't care if you have something to hide or not. This just sucks at a fundamental level.

If the "interest" that you're worried about AirTags "working against" is being able to stalk people by attaching trackers to them or their belongings -- sincerely, fuck you. It is entirely appropriate for Apple to build functionality into their products to mitigate this sort of abuse.
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