Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

apple.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

131–140 of 508 posts

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#131

Post by function_seven »

paxys wrote: post #92

"It’s why the Find My network is built with privacy in mind, uses end-to-end encryption..." "Apple can provide the paired account details in response to a subpoena or valid request from law enforcement" Hmm

Both can be true. The actual pairing of tag to owner is encrypted in the communication of its whereabouts. Some stranger detecting an AirTag that you own is not able to determine that you own it.

But also Apple can pair the serial number of the physical tag with the account that registered it. I think this requires the actual tag to be retrieved. The serial number isn't transmitted in the clear; it's gotta be read off the tag case.

That's my understanding of it anyway.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#132

Post by tshaddox »

bigmattystyles wrote: post #11
cyral wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is an Android app which allows Android users to see the same notifications.

Yea, but philosophically, you shouldn't have to opt in (to opt out) - if I don't want to any part of apple's ecosystem, this forces me to actively opt out.

I mean, you could be hanging out with a friend who has chosen to wear a tracking device. I'm not really sure how far you can go with this idea.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#133

Post by Closi »

FalconSensei wrote: post #122
josephcsible wrote: post #103

> New privacy warnings during AirTag setup: In an upcoming software update, every user setting up their AirTag for the first time will see a message that clearly states that AirTag is meant to track their own belongings, that using AirTag to track people without consent is a crime in many regions around the world, that AirTag is designed to be detected by victims, I expect that this will be about as effective as the…

Honestly they should be required to offer an Android app that even though don't let you pair your own airtag, could notify you if someone is stalking you.

They do offer that - it's called 'Tracker Detect' on the play store (by Apple).

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#134

Post by smilespray »

Rayhem wrote: post #126
Closi wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> How convenient. Now you need a modern, expensive Apple product to protect yourself from stalkers. To be honest, this is more about technical capability than an intentional lock-out. If older phones simply don't have the hardware to do precision finding, what would you propose Apple does? No precision finding for anyone?

Design products so this isn't a problem in the first place.

What do you want, a time machine?

You can still find the AirTag just fine, you just won't get the fancy "hot potato" animation and precision distance/direction that UWB offers.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#135

Post by josephcsible »

Closi wrote: post #133
FalconSensei wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly they should be required to offer an Android app that even though don't let you pair your own airtag, could notify you if someone is stalking you.

They do offer that - it's called 'Tracker Detect' on the play store (by Apple).

Unlike iPhones, it doesn't notify you. You have to open the app and start a scan manually every time.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#136

Post by tshaddox »

gnicholas wrote: post #85
post_break wrote: post #13

Just keep nerfing it Apple. They made the beeps louder with this new update too. So every time my wife borrows keys, my car, etc it's gonna go nuts. I guess I'm going to have to rip the speaker coils out of all of them at this point.

It's nuts that there's no family sharing ability, which would moot this common issue.

Is there really no family sharing features? I see this complaint all the time, but I've never once had a warning despite my wife and I both having AirTags on our car keys ever since they were released. We've had our car complain when one pair of keys are left in it, but never a peep from the AirTags.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#137

Post by DenisM »

paxys wrote: post #113
jackson1442 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should all GPS trackers be banned then? The problem with AirTags is they're accessible; these problems have always existed with any kind of GPS tracking.

Serious question – which commercially available GPS tracker can be used for this purpose? I have been looking for one for years ( not for stalking, I promise) and absolutely nothing fits the bill. They are all large (impossible to slip into, say, a purse), expensive, have minimum $20/mo subscriptions (with credit card registration), require you to register a SIM card, and have a battery life measured in days. Now you…

Invoxia

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#138

Post by gnopgnip »

paxys wrote: post #113
jackson1442 wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Should all GPS trackers be banned then? The problem with AirTags is they're accessible; these problems have always existed with any kind of GPS tracking.

Serious question – which commercially available GPS tracker can be used for this purpose? I have been looking for one for years ( not for stalking, I promise) and absolutely nothing fits the bill. They are all large (impossible to slip into, say, a purse), expensive, have minimum $20/mo subscriptions (with credit card registration), require you to register a SIM card, and have a battery life measured in days. Now you…

It is non trivial to setup an apple id without tying it to your identifiable information. Using an airtag to track someone will notify them if they have any apple products or check with a non apple phone.

Vodafone curve is a commercially available gps tracker that is about the same size and cost of an airtag. A vodafone sim is £3 a month, and you can sign up for a pre paid sim card without a credit card or providing identifiable info. There is a bike version that ties into a bike tail light for charging. The battery life can be much longer this way.

There are non cell based ones like the See.Sense AIR, the battery life is generally much longer

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#139

Post by mjsweet »

"We have successfully partnered with them (police) on cases where information we provided has been used to trace an AirTag back to the perpetrator, who was then apprehended and charged."

Obviously each air tag is associated with an iCloud account, so this could be quite an effective move on Apples part.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#140

Post by ccouzens »

paxys wrote: post #92

"It’s why the Find My network is built with privacy in mind, uses end-to-end encryption..." "Apple can provide the paired account details in response to a subpoena or valid request from law enforcement" Hmm

End to end encryption has become a buzzword.

It prevents identifying who an air tag is identifying its location to. It prevents identifying what air tags you're searching for.

It is unclear to me how either property is useful to protecting someone from being tracked by someone else's air tags.

Post reply on HN