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

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

#31

Post by gnicholas »

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…

A guy whose truck was stolen shot and killed the thief, after using an AirTag to locate his truck: https://www.fox7austin.com/news/san-antonio-texas-apple-airt...

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

#32

Post by NoZebra120vClip »

gnicholas wrote: post #30
NoZebra120vClip wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 hi…

HackerNews: where we love E2EE, but we shoot the messenger when he tells us that a service with E2EE works as designed.

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

#33

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.

https://support.apple.com/guide/icloud/locate-a-device-mmfc0...

  Note: Maps and location information depend on data collection services provided by third parties. These services are subject to change and may not be available in all geographic areas, resulting in inaccurate or incomplete maps or location information.

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

#34

Post by augment001 »

sangeeth96 wrote: post #21
augment001 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I’m curious why you imagine anyone is expecting that?

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

#35

Post by augment001 »

klyrs wrote: post #6
hn_user2 wrote: post #2

This article is missing so many technical details. Would have been so interesting to dig into the "why" and "how".

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.

In what state is it legal to kill people for stealing your stuff?

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

#36

Post by buggeryorkshire »

NoZebra120vClip wrote: post #33
SllX wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

https://support.apple.com/guide/icloud/locate-a-device-mmfc0... Note: Maps and location information depend on data collection services provided by third parties. These services are subject to change and may not be available in all geographic areas, resulting in inaccurate or incomplete maps or location information.

How does this help the guy who due to Apple services is having angry people turning up?

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

#37

Post by refulgentis »

augment001 wrote: post #34
sangeeth96 wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I’m curious why you imagine anyone is expecting that?

Because you said "Expecting journalists to have an answer before writing a piece is very reasonable." - given the journalist did not have an answer, it implies you think the journalist should have had an answer before publishing

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

#38

Post by jklein11 »

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…

LOL my initial reaction was wow this a a creative defense to petty theft. The GPS says your phone is at my house? Must be a bug!

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

#39

Post by doubled112 »

augment001 wrote: post #35
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.

In what state is it legal to kill people for stealing your stuff?

I’m fairly certain it is legal to shoot people on your property just for being on your property in some states.

I don’t know about finding somebody and “protecting” your property somewhere else.

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

#40

Post by jklein11 »

augment001 wrote: post #35
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.

In what state is it legal to kill people for stealing your stuff?

While it probably wouldn’t apply in this specific case, in Texas the Castle Doctrine describes circumstances where one could apply lethal force to defend one’s property
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