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Dad says glitch in ‘Find My iPhone’ app directs angry strangers to his home

nypost.com

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Re: Dad says glitch in ‘Find My iPhone’ app directs angry strangers to his home

#21

Post by sangeeth96 »

augment001 wrote: post #10
klyrs wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Expecting this random guy to deeply understand the technicalities of why Apple is directing angry people to his house, in a state where it's legal to kill people for stealing your stuff, is not terribly reasonable. If techies are interested, they could help by figuring out the reason for this.

Expecting journalists to have an answer before writing a piece is very reasonable.

Yeah sure, expecting journalists to find a cause + fix for the trillion-dollar company's buggy software and _only_ call-out and amplify a commoner's struggle _after_ they figure it out sounds super reasonable. Totally.

Re: Dad says glitch in ‘Find My iPhone’ app directs angry strangers to his home

#23

Post by Etheryte »

throw-4e451c8 wrote: post #17

> A supposed glitch in the popular “Found My iPhone” app has been directing random strangers to the home of an unsuspecting Texas dad at all hours of the day, falsely accusing him of stealing their electronic devices. [...] he’s been visited by close to a dozen irate people over the past few years, telling him that their missing phone had last pinged at his address. He wouldn't be the first dad to be totally unaware…

Doesn't sound likely, the kids are 7 and 9 years old respectively, and he says the issue has been going on for years. Unless the older one turned into a brilliant pickpocket at age 7 I would rule this out. With older kids, sure, I can see this happening.

Re: Dad says glitch in ‘Find My iPhone’ app directs angry strangers to his home

#24

Post by beezle »

augment001 wrote: post #10
klyrs wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Expecting this random guy to deeply understand the technicalities of why Apple is directing angry people to his house, in a state where it's legal to kill people for stealing your stuff, is not terribly reasonable. If techies are interested, they could help by figuring out the reason for this.

Expecting journalists to have an answer before writing a piece is very reasonable.

Its da Post so maybe not.

Re: Dad says glitch in ‘Find My iPhone’ app directs angry strangers to his home

#25

Post by throw-4e451c8 »

Etheryte wrote: post #23
throw-4e451c8 wrote: post #17

> A supposed glitch in the popular “Found My iPhone” app has been directing random strangers to the home of an unsuspecting Texas dad at all hours of the day, falsely accusing him of stealing their electronic devices. [...] he’s been visited by close to a dozen irate people over the past few years, telling him that their missing phone had last pinged at his address. He wouldn't be the first dad to be totally unaware…

Doesn't sound likely, the kids are 7 and 9 years old respectively, and he says the issue has been going on for years. Unless the older one turned into a brilliant pickpocket at age 7 I would rule this out. With older kids, sure, I can see this happening.

Agreed, that makes this scenario a lot less likely.

Re: Dad says glitch in ‘Find My iPhone’ app directs angry strangers to his home

#26

Post by NoZebra120vClip »

SllX wrote: post #12
NoZebra120vClip wrote: post #5

Apple may not be directly responsible or capable of rectifying this. It could be a third-party database. See also: geolocation database errors. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/aug/09/maxmind-m...

They’re responsible for the final product no matter what databases they use.

No, actually they cannot be responsible, because Apple cannot even see the devices or locations that are being reported.

I am confident that you will find, in the app(s) and devices, equal disclaimers of any warranty or fitness for purpose of the Service, just like any other software EULA.

https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/find-my/

  Find My can use the Find My network to help find devices even if they are not connected to the internet and, for supported devices, even if they are turned off or erased. Devices in the Find My network use Bluetooth wireless technology to detect missing devices or compatible items nearby, including AirTags and compatible third-party products registered to your Apple ID, and report their approximate location back to the owner. If a device is turned off or erased, that location is also visible to members of the owner’s Family Sharing group with whom they have chosen to share the location. The interaction is end-to-end encrypted, and Apple cannot see the location of any offline device or reporting device. When your device participates in the Find My network, it can both be located by the network and anonymously help locate other missing devices. ... For more information on AirTags and compatible third-party products, including instructions on adding these products to Find My and registering them to your Apple ID, visit support.apple.com/kb/HT211331.

Re: Dad says glitch in ‘Find My iPhone’ app directs angry strangers to his home

#27

Post by sys_64738 »

crazygringo wrote: post #7

> "Scott Schuster told the local news station KTRK that he’s been visited by close to a dozen irate people over the past few years, telling him that their missing phone had last pinged at his address." So like... a couple people a year? As far as annoyances go, not exactly a big one. Still, I'm happy he has this article now. He can just show it to the couple new visitors who arrive each year. Heck, frame it and put i…

> So like... a couple people a year? As far as annoyances go, not exactly a big one.

People who are looking for their possessions and think you have them are probably not going to be rational when you tell them to leave. The homeowner will have to call 911 to get them trespassed each time. That's a waste of his time.

Re: Dad says glitch in ‘Find My iPhone’ app directs angry strangers to his home

#28

Post by datapolitical »

Mike_12345 wrote: post #20
crazygringo wrote: post #7

> "Scott Schuster told the local news station KTRK that he’s been visited by close to a dozen irate people over the past few years, telling him that their missing phone had last pinged at his address." So like... a couple people a year? As far as annoyances go, not exactly a big one. Still, I'm happy he has this article now. He can just show it to the couple new visitors who arrive each year. Heck, frame it and put i…

> But also, the solution is maybe as easy as replacing your Wi-Fi router? GPS coordinates have nothing to do with Wi-Fi routers. He could bulldoze his house and people would still show up to that location because the GPS system does not know or care what is at that location.

Apple’s location database uses the location of Wi-Fi routers to get proper GPS locations. If someone is spoofing his routers MAC address, then that could fix it.

Re: Dad says glitch in ‘Find My iPhone’ app directs angry strangers to his home

#29

Post by zamadatix »

throw-4e451c8 wrote: post #25
Etheryte wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Doesn't sound likely, the kids are 7 and 9 years old respectively, and he says the issue has been going on for years. Unless the older one turned into a brilliant pickpocket at age 7 I would rule this out. With older kids, sure, I can see this happening.

Agreed, that makes this scenario a lot less likely.

FWIW they are in the NY Post article as well, just further in.

Re: Dad says glitch in ‘Find My iPhone’ app directs angry strangers to his home

#30

Post by gnicholas »

NoZebra120vClip wrote: post #26
SllX wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They’re responsible for the final product no matter what databases they use.

No, actually they cannot be responsible, because Apple cannot even see the devices or locations that are being reported. I am confident that you will find, in the app(s) and devices, equal disclaimers of any warranty or fitness for purpose of the Service, just like any other software EULA. https://www.apple.com/legal/privacy/data/en/find-my/ Find My can use the Find My network to help find devices even if they are no…

This raises an interesting question. If the homeowner never bought any Apple products, then he would not be bound by the EULA in any way.

It's less clear what would happen in the event that the homeowner does have some Apple devices, and has clicked through the EULA at some point. I would still say he'd have a good argument that Apple has wronged him by sending a constant stream of unhappy/confused/irate people to his home.

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