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Apple Introduces AirTag

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Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#651

Post by ryanfreeborn »

bobthepanda wrote: post #199
banana_giraffe wrote: post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tile has user replaceable batteries on some of their products. Granted, it seems to be on their best sellers, but I somehow ended up with the thin ones, and I found out those don't have replaceable batteries after they died.

There was definitely a time when they had no product that had replaceable batteries in their line. I swore Tile off when I found out the hard way that the battery gives out a year from time of sale, not from when you activate it.

You swore Tile off because because you don't like how batteries generally function?

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#652

Post by nielsbot »

BoorishBears wrote: post #587
JohnBooty wrote: post #484

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It would make sense to do the anti stalking notification after say 4 days "Your privacy and safety are important to Apple. We won't let anybody use these devices to stalk you for more than 96 hours." You haven't thought this through! Seriously, the use cases for 96 hours of tracking are frightening. 1. Meet victim in club/bus/supermarket/wherever 2. Drop AirTag in their bag/pocket/whatever. 3. Now you know where they…

Seeing as you can literally give someone a USB cable that tracks them, I don't think AirTags are enabling anything particularly new: https://www.walmart.com/ip/OURLEEME-Car-GPS-Tracker-Vehicle-...

Maybe so, but consider the optics...

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#655

Post by mrunkel »

quangv wrote: post #645
natch wrote: post #610

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes now they do. For years they had only non-user-replaceable ones but they were happy to charge a large fee for a swap.

Tile sends me free replaceable batteries. Hopefully AirTag opens up their API so Tile can integrate. I’m just assuming AirTag would be slightly more integrated than Tile.

The “find my” app is open to third party devices, but they have to get certified.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#658

Post by redxdev »

obenn wrote: post #439
Sohcahtoa82 wrote: post #433

Earlier quoted context omitted.

God damn it's like I'm back in 2010 where people praise Apple for doing things other people have already done. Apple did not invent device trackers with replaceable batteries. Tile has been doing that since 2018 on some of their devices (Basically all except the smallest ones), and I imagine someone else did it before then.

Trackers have existed for a while, but the privacy preserving ad-hoc device network approach is definitely an innovation.

Is it though? Tile seems to do the exact same thing according to https://www.thetileapp.com/en-us/how-it-works (see "Notify When Found")

I don't have one so I can't conclusively say either way, but it seems like the only "innovation" Apple can probably claim over Tile is that every iPhone should support the network out of the box (I assume) rather than having to rely only on people who already have the app.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#659

Post by mooman219 »

thatguy0900 wrote: post #461
mooman219 wrote: post #442

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally don't think anyone is fair game for stalking and this device lowering the barrier to entry should be discussed, and discussing it shouldn't get the kneejerk reaction that they're being painted in a bad light. There are plenty of questions here like: - How does the anti stalking alert in apartment buildings or people frequently in close proximity for long periods of time? - Since they considered that this…

How is this lowering the barrier? I bought a orbit for my keys that does exactly what this does, for cheaper, like 3 years ago. I would actually say nothing apple does about using this for stalking is useful in the least, because if someone wants to stalk you they can get one of a dozen devices, for cheaper, that would be better because they're not a obvious white and silver apple branded monogrammed thing. Noones at…

Orbit only works with bluetooth on your phone, not the entire Find My network. Additionally, I think it's a fallacy to say that it's fine for Apple to not consider the risks because some other products didn't consider the risks.

Re: Apple Introduces AirTag

#660

Post by ac29 »

05 wrote: post #237
Eric_WVGG wrote: post #208

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess bicycles thieves are either savvier or have an easier job. Their modus operandi is to throw a bicycle into a truck or van, move them in lots of fifty across state lines, and tear them down to components. Any trackers will be quickly rendered useless once they're in the van, and immediately found and discarded. I'm definitely planning on getting Airtags for my bikes, but mostly for amusement and occasionally f…

> Any trackers will be quickly rendered useless once they're in the van You can build a custom LoRa based tracker with 100+km range (line of sight), a van won't disable that. You'll have to use signal triangulation, though, because GPS reception in a van won't be great.

You need elevation to get line of sight at 100km+. On flat ground, the curvature of the earth will block your signal.
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