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An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

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Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#341

Post by incongruity »

mtlynch wrote: post #315
incongruity wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That leaves "finding your keys within your home" as the only truly "officially supported" use case. That is hardly true. Case in point - my wife put down her keys at a store and managed to leave without noticing (this was early after AirTags hit the market). I was driving and we left without recognizing that a few hundred dollars of keys had been lost. Later that day, we noticed. She called a few stores all said th…

> I was driving and we left without recognizing that a few hundred dollars of keys had been lost. What do you mean by "a few hundred dollars of keys?" Do hardware stores charge more than a few dollars per key in your area? Were these private keys to a crypto wallet?

Proximity key fobs at $100+ each and programming which can run $80-100 each, a few house keys (I change the locks of keys have been out of my control in a way that can plausibly be tied to my identity, lest someone make a copy and turn up uninvited - that’s another $100+), and $30 for an air tag.

I didn’t make up those numbers.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#342

Post by nomel »

ec109685 wrote: post #290
kortilla wrote: post #287

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If that's true, then Apple just raised the privacy bar and now Tile and other small players need to up their game to stay relevant. No they didn’t. This “feature” is garbage for the people who actually buy it. It makes putting air tags on things shared by a bunch of people a huge pain in the ass. “Freaking people out who are on the bus with you because you forgot your phone but have your keys” is not a selling feat…

You can chose to stop getting an alert if a particular device is following you, so that should handle the communal device with an AirTag?

Last I tried, it only disables it temporarily.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#343

Post by tomxor »

oxplot wrote: post #251

This is a great response - very happy to hear Apple's involvement with various groups to make things better. Some noteworthy bits: > we innovated with the first-ever proactive system to alert you of unwanted tracking If that's true, then Apple just raised the privacy bar and now Tile and other small players need to up their game to stay relevant. There is also lesson to learn here: whoever makes a tech/product popula…

>> we innovated with the first-ever proactive system to alert you of unwanted tracking

> If that's true, then Apple just raised the privacy bar

Except that's only true for Apple users. Fuck everyone else I guess.

subtext: buy Apple, lest you get robbed or stalked because of Apple

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#344

Post by hunterb123 »

Lamad123 wrote: post #295
hunterb123 wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Brits don't have a 2A. We have it because of the Brits. Life isn't that strange if you follow it back. They have knife bans because they never let their citizens have guns, so there are knife attacks, so they ban knives. That's why terrorists when they can't sneak AK47s in, rely on vans to run people over, that's why there are bollards everywhere. Chemical attacks, axes and such can also be used to kill or harm p…

It would attract too much attention carrying an axe around for no reason and Dilbert Grady's family massacre might be the largest ever where only an axe was used and using the axe was mostly for theatrical effect. with a gun, an 8-year-old can probably easily murder a dozen adults. I am not for gun banning anywhere but I don't like likening guns to knives or sticks or stones. It seems no different from likening ridin…

I didn't say that because I thought there was going to be axe attacks, I said it because there have been axe attacks. Examples:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tesco-axe-at...

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/4153298/gang-axe-attack-london...

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/jun/14/man-jailed-2...

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/woman-injured-east-london...

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#345

Post by filoleg »

wpearse wrote: post #311
ec109685 wrote: post #290

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can chose to stop getting an alert if a particular device is following you, so that should handle the communal device with an AirTag?

Can you? I was away with work for a week and left all my keys (with AirTags) at home. Got home and they were all in the fridge.

>I was away with work for a week and left all my keys (with AirTags) at home

The parent comment said "You can chose to stop getting an alert if a particular device is following you". I don't see how what they said applies to your scenario, given your scenario is literally the opposite.

Since you weren't near the airtags, you couldn't have stopped them from beeping/following you. But whoever was at your home near the airtags (presumably the person who put them in the fridge) had the ability to disable them from beeping/following them.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#346

Post by oxplot »

simondotau wrote: post #338
oxplot wrote: post #330

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$50-ish — but that's not the point. I value my belongings because I spend great deal of time researching and finding products that I love using day in day out (unlike most people who constantly curse at stuff they have). I also modify things I buy to fine tune it to my needs. So even a $50 umbrella is more like $1000 in terms of time I've spent on it and I have no intention of doing it again. This particular umbrella…

The notion of an umbrella lasting 20 years boggles my mind. I've never had one last more than 2–3 years and I don't use them much. I've looked for premium umbrellas before but every time I find one that isn't ridiculously priced, there's always a contingent of reviewers who insist that it fell apart in heavy wind or frequent use. Normally I buy $10 umbrellas from Australia's big hardware store chain. They aren't grea…

> I'd be willing to pay $120 AUD (or $80 USD) for an umbrella that was seriously good quality

https://au.davekny.com/ has good stuff although I haven't had one long enough (only 5 years) to attest its durability.

They also have some promising guarantee terms: https://au.davekny.com/pages/lifetime-guarantee

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#347

Post by x0x0 »

foolfoolz wrote: post #291
x0x0 wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why and how? I'm quite familiar with gdpr, btw -- and I don't see how being able to look up a uuid or some other nonsequential identifier via a site to find the owner obviously violates it. There's a strong legitimate interest case for anyone in possession of a global tracking tag being able to find out the owner, I would think.

the problem is an api that returns someone’s pii without authenticating they are allowed to see it. a uuid on its own is not a problem. but if you can take one and establish a link pii then the uuid becomes a pii risk.

The far bigger problem is the airtag itself, which spews unpermissioned tracking data without any consent required.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#348

Post by hunterb123 »

giaour wrote: post #304
hunterb123 wrote: post #264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Brits don't have a 2A. We have it because of the Brits. Life isn't that strange if you follow it back. They have knife bans because they never let their citizens have guns, so there are knife attacks, so they ban knives. That's why terrorists when they can't sneak AK47s in, rely on vans to run people over, that's why there are bollards everywhere. Chemical attacks, axes and such can also be used to kill or harm p…

I grew up in Houston, Texas, where it was a felony to carry basically any knife bigger or more threatening than a Swiss army knife, but open-carrying a handgun was legal. I don't think knife bans have anything to do with the the 2A or the lack thereof. Knives can be seriously dangerous weapons, and in an urban environment, the stealth afforded by a knife over a gun presents further menace.

I said knife bans happened because there are knife attacks.

Guns are already banned and there weren't many with civilians already so it was effective.

So that leaves knives as the main weapon of choice. There are mainly knife attacks, so there are knife bans.

Re: An update on AirTag and unwanted tracking

#349

Post by bobbylarrybobby »

Wowfunhappy wrote: post #317
eftychis wrote: post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consider theft. Now the thieves have the victims phone number to attempt to further steal from them. Or if there is an audible sound, they know the police is coming after them and can drop the airtag and avoid apprehension. This is a two edge blade. Personally, if I was going to use an airtag I would use it to protect myself in case of theft. Now, the thieves can locate the airtag due to a notification and move it to…

But Apple is already saying you shouldn't use AirTags for cases of theft. The AirTags already attempt to alert people to their presence, including with sound.

"Don't expect to be able to use AirTags as an anti-theft device" is very different from "AirTags should allow thieves to do even more harm to you"
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