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I used Apple AirTags, Tiles and a GPS tracker to watch my husband’s every move

nytimes.com

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Re: I used Apple AirTags, Tiles and a GPS tracker to watch my husband’s every move

#11

Post by ameminator »

nooyurrsdey wrote: post #7
ameminator wrote: post #3

Look, I usually try to be charitable. However, this article offered no new insight on Apple Airtags. If you don't want to waste your time, allow me to summarize: Woman puts Airtags in a car. Her husband isn't able to find them, even using Apple's "anti-stalk" features. Ergo, Apple needs to do more. I ask - what new insight did this article offer on Airtags? I don't think anyone can conclude either way on the effectiv…

Not everything has to offer new info. Sometimes things bear repeating, it's how we add emphasis and continue the conversation. Coming out with "Apple is doing a poor job" just once isn't going to move the needle. People have to hear it over and over in a relatable way.

Fair point - but in that case, I found the author's account unrelatable, so much as to approach uncredible.

Maybe it hits different for other people, but I don't appreciate being given a conclusion without any good discussion

Re: I used Apple AirTags, Tiles and a GPS tracker to watch my husband’s every move

#12

Post by BeefWellington »

ameminator wrote: post #3

Look, I usually try to be charitable. However, this article offered no new insight on Apple Airtags. If you don't want to waste your time, allow me to summarize: Woman puts Airtags in a car. Her husband isn't able to find them, even using Apple's "anti-stalk" features. Ergo, Apple needs to do more. I ask - what new insight did this article offer on Airtags? I don't think anyone can conclude either way on the effectiv…

> I ask - what new insight did this article offer on Airtags? I don't think anyone can conclude either way on the effectiveness of Apple's "safety measures" when it comes to Airtags, from this small anecdote.

While I understand where you're coming from, I think there's value in adding to the chorus when it comes to putting pressure on a company to rethink a strategy.

Certainly, while articles such as this may not be news to you or I, they are likely to be news to a number of people on HN, their friends & family, etc.

> The author also seems to be somewhat deceptive - "I sound like a terrible wife, but it's for journalism!" No, it seems like the author played a prank on her husband a while back and used that to neuroticaly follow him, then tried to excuse that behavior by writing this fluff piece.

This point misses the mark IMO. The issue with AirTags at their core is that they permit people who are deceptive and shady to do bad things much easier than they could before.

I think the cat's out of the bag now on this type of tech though. Tile's been around for a while, AirTags are now everywhere, the goal now should be developing detection systems (which shouldn't be too hard).

Re: I used Apple AirTags, Tiles and a GPS tracker to watch my husband’s every move

#13

Post by tinalumfoil »

I hate this AirTag because besides being pointless (nothing you couldn't do before), it fosters a fear of your neighbor while placing tech companies as your trusted friends. There's no evidence these, "people have freaked out after finding AirTags hidden in their bags and on their cars" are anything other than just stray airtags their owners would very much like back. Just because police (or journalists for that matter) are helping to foster this environment doesn't matter because most police are technologically illiterate and under-trained, and frankly don't know what they're doing.

Google using hidden terms to track your every location is your enemy. Your wife leaving an AirTag in the car is not the enemy. You live in a tech dystopia, not a Liam Neeson film. Nobody is following is following you to QuickCheck to kidnap you.

Also, AirTags suck. If you drop one in your friends car and drive around trying to find it you're now (1) effectively a stalker (2) won't find your AirTag if they have Android which kind of defeats the purpose, since these things are supposed to want to be found, and (3) correct me if I'm wrong, but even if someone finds your lost item and doesn't immediately send the police on you -- they have no way to contact you to setup a return of your lost item? You have to go through the police? Why would anyone want that?

EDIT: Appearantly Apple says you can give it a message if lost of how to contact you, but no way to message without giving additional contact info, and only if you mark it as lost.

Re: I used Apple AirTags, Tiles and a GPS tracker to watch my husband’s every move

#15

Post by ameminator »

bberenberg wrote: post #4
ameminator wrote: post #3

Look, I usually try to be charitable. However, this article offered no new insight on Apple Airtags. If you don't want to waste your time, allow me to summarize: Woman puts Airtags in a car. Her husband isn't able to find them, even using Apple's "anti-stalk" features. Ergo, Apple needs to do more. I ask - what new insight did this article offer on Airtags? I don't think anyone can conclude either way on the effectiv…

I found the key quote to be "My husband, of course, had agreed to this in principle, but didn’t realize just how many devices I had planted on him. Of the seven trackers, he found only two: a Tile he felt in the breast pocket of his coat and an AirTag in his backpack when he was looking for something else. “It is impossible to find a device that makes no noise and gives no warning,” he said, when I showed him the one…

I actually tend to agree somewhat with your arguments. However, from the article, I don't think you can reach those conclusions like:

"Apple needs to improve, but still drastically better than everything else out there"

Where does the article talk about this class of device? Nowhere is a competing product mentioned or compared against. Even a Bluetooth keyfob, used to track keys by emitting a sound (and widely available) could have been used there.

I like and agree with what you said, I just don't think the article makes those points, to its detriment.

Re: I used Apple AirTags, Tiles and a GPS tracker to watch my husband’s every move

#16

Post by ppseafield »

major505 wrote: post #5
ameminator wrote: post #3

Look, I usually try to be charitable. However, this article offered no new insight on Apple Airtags. If you don't want to waste your time, allow me to summarize: Woman puts Airtags in a car. Her husband isn't able to find them, even using Apple's "anti-stalk" features. Ergo, Apple needs to do more. I ask - what new insight did this article offer on Airtags? I don't think anyone can conclude either way on the effectiv…

The fact that she was to tired to take a baby to the hospital, but not to follow husband every step is what concerns me.

My impression was that she was both a) already up with the baby all night, and b) was too tired to drive 30 minutes to the nearest hospital with their baby. The article didn't say if the husband was also up with the baby all night. While tired I'd be wary of drifting off while driving with my newborn in the car.

Re: I used Apple AirTags, Tiles and a GPS tracker to watch my husband’s every move

#18

Post by xoa »

BeefWellington wrote: post #12
ameminator wrote: post #3

Look, I usually try to be charitable. However, this article offered no new insight on Apple Airtags. If you don't want to waste your time, allow me to summarize: Woman puts Airtags in a car. Her husband isn't able to find them, even using Apple's "anti-stalk" features. Ergo, Apple needs to do more. I ask - what new insight did this article offer on Airtags? I don't think anyone can conclude either way on the effectiv…

> I ask - what new insight did this article offer on Airtags? I don't think anyone can conclude either way on the effectiveness of Apple's "safety measures" when it comes to Airtags, from this small anecdote. While I understand where you're coming from, I think there's value in adding to the chorus when it comes to putting pressure on a company to rethink a strategy. Certainly, while articles such as this may not be…

>The issue with AirTags at their core is that they permit people who are deceptive and shady to do bad things much easier than they could before.

But that's just not true. Seriously, right now, go to Amazon and type in "GPS Tracker" and look at the results:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=gps+tracker

Literally $30 gets you a 1oz cellular magnetized tracker you put a SIM into for real time tracking anywhere with cell coverage with voice monitoring included! Literally for tracking and they proudly advertise it. No warnings or nags about "a device is following you", no noises. Comes with Prime shipping, get it as soon as Sunday February 13!

Apple being Apple may well have brought more publicity to the issue but no, AirTags do not do what you say they do. If anything there are reasonable arguments that Apple has been too careful to the extent of making them pretty irritating in family/friends usage where everyone gets nagged for normal shared item activity and cannot use them in a shared way (despite being able to do so for devices!).

Re: I used Apple AirTags, Tiles and a GPS tracker to watch my husband’s every move

#19

Post by bentcorner »

ameminator wrote: post #9
major505 wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The fact that she was to tired to take a baby to the hospital, but not to follow husband every step is what concerns me.

I do try to be charitable, but it almost seemed like a sick game to me. "Here, let me convince my husband that he needs to go take the baby to the hospital. Now, let's stalk him to see if he actually did it!" Anyways, this turned me off. It could have been "forgiven" (if this word even applies) had it contributed something meaningful. Sadly, it didn't, so it just comes off as neurotic stalking.

I don't have that take at all. The husband knew he was being tracked, she got permission from him prior to putting any tracking devices on him.

> It could have been "forgiven" (if this word even applies) had it contributed something meaningful

Just because you are aware of the dangers of tracking and how these devices work it doesn't mean others are equally aware.

Re: I used Apple AirTags, Tiles and a GPS tracker to watch my husband’s every move

#20

Post by dangoor »

Regarding her husband not being able to find the Airtag, Apple's announcement this week of planned improvements[1] also include the ability for recent-model iPhones to be able to do precision tracking of unknown Airtags, just as they can when looking for known Airtags.

I've personally come around to the idea that Airtags are a product that shouldn't exist, but at least Apple is making an effort to make these less attractive to stalkers.

[1]: https://www.macrumors.com/2022/02/10/airtag-updates-unwanted...

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