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

361–370 of 508 posts

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#361

Post by webmobdev »

concinds wrote: post #119

Android users are still vulnerable, and these announcements do nothing to reduce that. All a stalker needs to do, is remove the speaker. To detect a rogue AirTag, an Android owner needs to: 1) know AirTags exist (many obviously don't) 2) go out of their way to install Apple's Android AirTag scanner app (only 100k-500k worldwide have done so according to Google Play stats) 3) manually open the scanner app and scan, si…

You don't recognize the huge value of AirTags for Apple - the AirTags give Apple a valid excuse to create an ad-hoc network (Find My Network) of Apple devices that can better spy on each user, thus giving them better access to the users personal data regardless of their privacy settings. For example, if you haven't opted out of the Find My Network (turned it off), but turned locations off due to privacy concern, Apple can now get that data from others iDevice users near you. They can use it to upgrade your social graphs (who you hang out with), where you shop and eat outside. With Find My Network enabled, Apple devices are no longer fully powered off but go into a low power mode so that they can still talk to another iDevice through Bluetooth.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#362

Post by johnwalkr »

jtc331 wrote: post #312

Notably they hint at one of the problems but don’t discuss fixing it at all: it’s bizarre that AirTags can’t be shared with a family account. It’s irritating that if I grab my wife’s copy of the car key I get alerts about being tracked, and, conversely, it’s frustrating that she can’t locate my copy of the key when that’s the one that’s closest.

Probably deliberate since unconsented spouse tracking is probably the most common type of tracking. Maybe an icon and periodic notifications, similar to how the location service works could be a way to allow.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#363

Post by kevinmchugh »

concinds wrote: post #173
colinmhayes wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you don't lose stuff as much as other people? My brother was always complaining about losing his wallet, his keys, anything you can think of. I got him a tile, but their product wasn't very accurate. Got him airtags and the problem is solved. Not only are air tags useful, but I'm sure that there are people who would be willing to switch to iOS solely to get access to airtags. That seems pretty valuable to apple…

> Maybe you don't lose stuff as much as other people? I relate to it and respect it, but it's doubtful anyone would switch to iPhone because of AirTags. Samsung and others also make trackers, and you don't need the Find My network if you lost your keys inside your house, any tracker will do. > Not only are air tags useful, but I'm sure that there are people who would be willing to switch to iOS surely to get access t…

My mom likes her iPhone for other reasons but she loves her air tags. She can find her keys in her house, her purse at a party, and her car in a parking lot. She's never leaving the apple ecosystem now.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#364

Post by w0mbat »

tshaddox wrote: post #298
sixothree wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's different from a thief stealing my bag and carrying it around in their car versus me putting an airtag in the exact same location without them knowing? If a thief has my bag I definitely don't want them knowing they're being tracked. Maybe I don't quite understand something about this announcement.

It’s honestly pretty silly to expect to track down thieves because they stole something with a tracking device in it. Are you really going to chase a thief and confront them? Do you really think the police are going to do it for you?

It is entirely reasonable to expect the police to recover stolen high value items whose location is known. Particuarly if the items were obtained with violence or weapons.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#365

Post by NavinF »

tshaddox wrote: post #298
sixothree wrote: post #278

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's different from a thief stealing my bag and carrying it around in their car versus me putting an airtag in the exact same location without them knowing? If a thief has my bag I definitely don't want them knowing they're being tracked. Maybe I don't quite understand something about this announcement.

It’s honestly pretty silly to expect to track down thieves because they stole something with a tracking device in it. Are you really going to chase a thief and confront them? Do you really think the police are going to do it for you?

Yeah the police do exactly that.

When my father’s Android was stolen we called the cops and they told us to the park a block away from the thief’s house (last ping from Find My Device) and wait for them. They took a report from us, confronted the thief at his house, and got the phone back. The thief claimed that he found it at the post office and intended to return it, but the phone was in airplane mode (accessible from the lock screen) so that was clearly never gonna happen. This was in San Jose.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#366

Post by null_object »

oxplot wrote: post #346
simondotau wrote: post #338

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The notion of an umbrella lasting 20 years boggles my mind. I've never had one last more than 2–3 years and I don't use them much. I've looked for premium umbrellas before but every time I find one that isn't ridiculously priced, there's always a contingent of reviewers who insist that it fell apart in heavy wind or frequent use. Normally I buy $10 umbrellas from Australia's big hardware store chain. They aren't grea…

> I'd be willing to pay $120 AUD (or $80 USD) for an umbrella that was seriously good quality https://au.davekny.com/ has good stuff although I haven't had one long enough (only 5 years) to attest its durability. They also have some promising guarantee terms: https://au.davekny.com/pages/lifetime-guarantee

I’ve been using a small folding umbrella from MUJI that I bought 8 years ago. Not particularly expensive.

My partner has probably been through about ten umbrellas in the same time-span, because she was reluctant to spend the modest extra amount for something she doubted would last so long. I recently bought her the same model of umbrella from MUJI, although it’s too early to say whether the company has maintained the build quality.

I think it’s this one (but hard to tell on their awful website) https://www.muji.eu/pages/online.asp?PID=14951&qclr=45503441...

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#367

Post by GekkePrutser »

krinchan wrote: post #213
colinmhayes wrote: post #153

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Maybe you don't lose stuff as much as other people? My brother was always complaining about losing his wallet, his keys, anything you can think of. I got him a tile, but their product wasn't very accurate. Got him airtags and the problem is solved. Not only are air tags useful, but I'm sure that there are people who would be willing to switch to iOS solely to get access to airtags. That seems pretty valuable to apple…

They’re a lifesaver for me with unmedicated adult ADHD. I’ve been substantially more on-time to events, appointments, etc. since I put an air tag on my keys and wallet. Several of my friends have commented on it. Tile trackers were horribly inaccurate and either had non-replacable batteries or would eat a battery a month. Airtags have been lightyears better. Perhaps removing them from the Find My network and only ope…

The later Tiles did have replaceable batteries. But they did still suck at being located when lost. Once I tried marking my tile as lost and carried it with me in Barcelona including on busy subways and it took 1 month to get a ping :)

They just didn't have the reach that Apple has, by far.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#368

Post by dghlsakjg »

incongruity wrote: post #356
mtlynch wrote: post #352

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh wow, I thought maybe it was a typo. Thanks for the details!

Yeah - I learned the hard way a while back when someone in our household misplaced another key… and found it right after we’d replaced it/paid all that.

fyi, If you ever have to get your locks rekeyed again, ask for a kwikset smartkey cylinder.

Its a clever little device that will let you rekey a lock yourself with a new key as long as you still have at least one of the original keys.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#369

Post by askbjoernhansen »

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #170
concinds wrote: post #165

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But Apple apparently has done it with anti-stalking features but is too high-profile. Remember that stalking isn't a profession; it's often a crime of opportunity, with plenty of reported cases of e.g. people slipping GPS trackers into spouses' cars/bags before or during divorces. Those people aren't sophisticated, and might go on Amazon and see Tiles that won't work (sparse detection network), or GPS trackers that…

> Those people aren't sophisticated It is foolish to underestimate stalkers and stereotype it as just a crime of opportunity. > "problem is that AirTags still, to this day, present a major Android stalking risk" Ironically, so did Tile for the last 8 years, and Samsung's own Galaxy trackers for Android, but there is no outcry about them. Also, considering how long Tile has been on the market, this doesn't seem like a…

I know it's unlikely to be you, but if you know anyone concerned about someone who had access to their phone tracking them (or other malfeasence), Apple published a "Personal Safety User Guide":

https://help.apple.com/pdf/personal-safety/en_US/personal-sa...

(also a web version: https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/welcome/web )

(and yes, it covers AirTags).

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#370

Post by corndoge »

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #179
moogly wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I remember seeing a chills-down-your-spine Apple Watch Series 7 TV ad, that featured beautiful remote nature landscapes, with the audio of 911 calls made from people's Apple Watches whose lives were saved by their Watch. Probably one of Apple's best and most impactful ad in the past decade. One could argue it's pretty distasteful to try to cash in on people's fears.

Well, that is one of the pillars of advertising these days. Survival food? Fear. Antivirus software? Fear. Expensive Organic Cat Food? Fear (of the inorganic cheap food). LifeLock? Fear. Insurance of any kind? Fear. Solar panels for off-grid? Fear (of the grid going down). Your cousin's extensive gun collection? Fear (if things get bad). And so on...

Insurance is mere pragmatism. Knowing that bad things happen that require large amounts of money to fix doesn't constitute fear.
Post reply on HN