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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

#41

Post by xondono »

hnlmorg wrote: post #36

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 othe…

Because there is vibrant a market for content hating on Apple, from forums, to magazines, podcasts,…

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

#42

Post by micromacrofoot »

kbos87 wrote: post #32

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 i…

> 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.

I think this is a partial solution to keep honest people honest. Like door locks. They keep the temptation at bay for the average person.

In abusive relationships it likely wouldn't accomplish much, but notifying might at least create known windows of "escape" when the tracking isn't being actively monitored. Maybe it could even draw someone's attention to abusive situations... if you're out with a friend and her phone "pings" that someone is tracking her 10 times over an hour maybe that's enough for someone to ask "hey is everything ok?"

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

#43

Post by BeefWellington »

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…

> 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!).

Bringing more attention and publicity to it, and claiming to have actually solved the privacy problems when in fact they haven't has actually made it easier for stalkers. The proof is in the pudding: Similarly google search guides on disabling the speaker on AirTags, you'll find hundreds just for the one product. Likewise, compare sales of AirTags to the GPS Trackers on Amazon.

Whenever a big trusted company makes a product more accessible to the average person, they're making it easier as a whole.

Even in a strict technical sense, having it visible in the Find My App that people already are familiar with and use to locate their airpods, apple watches, etc., that alone gives the infrastructure benefit to make it simpler.

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

#44

Post by micromacrofoot »

ameminator wrote: post #15
bberenberg wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 availa…

Yeah Tile even has the same network tracking effects that extend widely beyond bluetooth range. They've done this for a decade at this point, IIRC.

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

#45

Post by tokamak-teapot »

jtbayly wrote: post #34
xoa wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…”

Is it hard to buy a SIM card in much of the world? I can walk into one or about ten shops within 5km of here and buy one instantly. I think the price is ‘free’ but you pay something like EUR 10 to have credit on it. If you want to be anonymous, you can wear a hood and a mask and pay with cash.

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

#46

Post by fleetwoodsnack »

ameminator wrote: post #39
fleetwoodsnack wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

>Yes, I will present my viewpoint

You can, or, alternatively, you can simply acknowledge you’re not the intended audience for the article, and that you may have over-stepped rhetorically in declaring a complete absence of value with respect to insight or novelty in the article; which is there, and obviously so.

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

#47

Post by kbos87 »

micromacrofoot wrote: post #42
kbos87 wrote: post #32

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 i…

> 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. I think this is a partial solution to keep honest people honest. Like door locks. They keep the temptation at bay for the average person. In abusive relationships it likely wouldn't accomplish much, but notifying might at least c…

Exactly. Being held accountable, and knowing you are being held accountable, could likely stem some amount of bad behavior from the start, and at the very least it makes bad behavior harder to conceal.

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

#48

Post by BeefWellington »

eddieroger wrote: post #33
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 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. No…

I think you replied a level too low.

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

#49

Post by adolph »

jtbayly wrote: post #34
xoa wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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…”

> get a working SIM card is a pretty substantial

  Best Seller in Cell Phone SIM Cards
  SpeedTalk Mobile $5 Prepaid GSM Sim Card for GPS Tracking Pet Senior Kid Child Car Smart Watch Devices Locators 30-Day Wireless Service
  3 4 out of 5 stars 8,954
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Re: I used Apple AirTags, Tiles and a GPS tracker to watch my husband’s every move

#50

Post by mettamage »

nickthegreek wrote: post #40

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.

Same, I was once drunk and I thought my backpack was stolen (it wasn't), because I didn't see it in the bar. It turned out it was in the car that was parked quite far away (15 min.). That saved a whooooollllleeeee load of anxiety.

Recently I had to go at a moment's notice and needed my wallet. I couldn't find it, but I airtagged it, so I could. That saved an awful ton of stress, which helped me in keeping my head cool. The moment's notice was really stressful, searching my wallet for 5 to 10 minutes in a time-pressure sensitive task with stakes that are too high for my taste would only have compounded my stress.

So in that sense, Apple is helping me preserve my sanity at moments where I could otherwise lose it. There only have been these two situations for it, but IMO that's worth it. I have one on my keys, my wallet and my backpack.

And of course, I've used it dozens of times because I'm too lazy to go search them. That's just a convenience feature. The real reason I have them is to reduce stress.

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