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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

#31

Post by ameminator »

bentcorner wrote: post #19
ameminator wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

This is actually one of the side issues I had with the piece. The way it's written, you would think that she asked explicit permission to track him to the hospital.

However, what seems to have happened in reality, is that they had previously played a harmless game of "find the Airtags". Then, some time later, possibly a large period, she uses those Airtags to track the husband. It's hard to say in either direction if the husband knew and expected to be tracked to the hospital. I think that was a deliberate choice - but it still comes off deceptive, if this is just happenstance.

If any of this had contributed meaningfully to the main points, I would tolerate it a lot more - that's my biggest contention. The fact that the author isnt a perfect person is just a side gripe that I have with plenty other articles.

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

#32

Post by kbos87 »

My comment isn’t specific to AirTags, but there’s a much larger conversation that needs to be had about this gray area of stalking capabilities that are now built into many mainstream products.

Here’s a pattern I’ve seen play out more than once among friends and family - they share their location willingly and for seemingly benign reasons. It’s helpful to know when you’ll be getting home so I can start dinner! Just in case something happens to you! This is the innocent end of the spectrum; subtle or outright coercion in a controlling relationship is the darker end of the spectrum.

How it starts really doesn’t matter, because the truth is that even among otherwise well meaning and well intentioned people, tracking tech can turn them obsessive. Checking in constantly. Wondering and/or quizzing their child, partner or friend about what they were doing at location X.

The truth is that most people aren’t immune to being on either end of a situation like this, and the negative outcomes can range from feeling like your everyday movements are under a microscope, to outright abusive behavior more easily taken to the extreme.

I don’t claim that there are simple solutions here, but a starting point would be tech companies making it easier to see an audit of how this “innocent” tracking tech is being used on the trackee. For example, I bet my grandpa would think twice about checking in on my cousins location as often as he probably does if he knew that my cousin got a notification every time he checked in.

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

#33

Post by eddieroger »

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 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.

You need to read more of the article.

> Some states, including New York, where we live, have laws criminalizing this sort of thing. Not wanting to break the law, or my husband’s trust, I had asked him for permission.

It may be fluff, but it wasn't deceptive.

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

#34

Post by jtbayly »

xoa wrote: post #18
BeefWellington wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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 cove…

I actually agree with you, but Tile is a better example, I think.

Because needing to also get a working SIM card is a pretty substantial “oh, you’ll also need…”

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

#36

Post by hnlmorg »

Can someone explain to me (because I cannot work it myself) why everyone is suddenly worried about AirTags yet these kinds of devices have been around for a while (eg the Samsung Galaxy SmartTag was released last year and little was talked about it). And GPS tracking isn't even a new thing either.

So why is it most conversations focus on the AirTag? What is it that the AirTag does better/worse/differently to the other options out there?

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

#37

Post by joe5150 »

"Albert Fox Cahn, the executive director of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project, thinks the devices are 'too ripe for abuse' to exist."

besides the fact that these devices cover a wide spectrum of abuse potential, in what way is this even a tenable position to take? it would be hard enough to get them banned, but if we're talking about actually making them not "exist" anymore, we're talking about confiscating millions and millions of devices.

other comments have noted that devices that are much more effective for actual tracking/stalking purposes are cheap and readily available, so I don't understand why AirTags have become the center of this conversation.

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

#38

Post by BiteCode_dev »

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…

> should Apple be doing these measures at all?

Apple no, but law makers should require a licence to use those. This is not a tech that anybody should be able to use on a whim. Too much potential for abuses.

Not to mention the more there are, the bigger the cake for a nation that want to get control of the biggest offline spying network of all time. Somebody is going to crack that thing sooner or later. There will be an NSO for airtags.

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

#39

Post by ameminator »

fleetwoodsnack wrote: post #24
ameminator wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Your critique is bit shallow. That the article does not present any new information to any one reader (you) specifically, or that any one reader (you) cannot relate personally is to be expected and not remarkable given the size of this publication’s audience and the novelty of the phenomenon the article discusses. I imagine, however, that there are readers for whom this information is novel, and for whom the first-pe…

Yes, I will present my viewpoint. I didn't find this article relatable. I didn't find new information from this article. I think this article objectively is hard to relate to and has little new information.I will share my viewpoint in a comments section - feel free to disagree. If you think it's shallow, it's probably because the original piece didn't have much meat to begin with.

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

#40

Post by nickthegreek »

When it comes to AirTags, what I care about is my use cases and if this tech is serving me well. I have one in my motorcycle, vespa and backpack. I’ve previously had a bike stolen and never recovered. My mom looses her keys so what often, so I got her one as well. These AirTags provide me with an affordable peace of mind that works better than my Tile ever did.
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