It has been more than a year and a half since Apple put its little tracking doohickey called AirTags on the market, but it has been abused by stalkers as a way to keep tabs on targets. Apple quietly released details on earlier updates to its AirTags that let users know if an unknown AirTag is on them.
On Wednesday, Apple added more information about its latest two updates. The latter update says it fixed the AirTags, but the former one is very interesting. The update makes it possible to locate an AirTag that is moving with you. When an AirTag that's no longer with its owner is on your person, you'll be notified by a user's phone. A sound will be made to make it appear that the phone has been moved.
AirTag should automatically download the update when it is within 33 feet of the phone, but only on the newer models. The iOs 16.2 needs to be used. The earlier update included tuning the unwanted tracking sound to make it easier to locate an AirTag.
It took the company until now to describe what the updates actually did after they were released. The feature works using ultra wideband, which means that it can be used in countries like Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Indonesia, and more. The feature doesn't do anything for anyone who has an AirTag on their phone. There is a separate app for that.
The first update made AirTags sound if they weren't near the original users phone after eight to 24 hours, but it didn't work out. In February, Apple made a statement about how they were working to prevent AirTags for " unwanted tracking", but users had been complaining about receiving notifications when they borrowed friends' keys. Users will be able to determine where an AirTag is on their person with more updates.
Critics have questioned how ripe Air tags were for abuse since they were released as a competitor. The issue of AirTag stalking was brought up in a Washington Post article in May 2021. In April, they reported that they had found 50 cases of women being tracked with AirTags. Indianapolis police said in June that a woman used Air tags to kill her boyfriend.
None of the new features released by Apple have mitigated the risk of stalkers. The company has been accused in a new class action lawsuit of being "heedless" in its promotion of its AirTags. One of the women in that suit said her phone alert her to the AirTag.
Apple has been slow and piecemeal in its response to the privacy nightmare it has created. Apple puts the onus on regular people to be aware of the technology and use it on their person, even though the company says it will give up any information to law enforcement.
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