AirTag Owners Bemoan Inability to Let Others Track Their Items Via Family Sharing

[incoherent_1]

Thankfully that is a software — not a hardware — limitation, so hopefully they’ll be able to add that soon.

 

[haruhiko]

Thankfully that is a software — not a hardware — limitation, so hopefully they’ll be able to add that soon.

Unfortunately, the signal strength problem is most likely a hardware limitation.

 

[Appletimemac2]

I am one of those idiots that bought 5 of these in the heat of the pre order moment and now I can’t use either of them really cuz the damn affordable keychain Accessoire isn’t available until the end of June! 😅

Try Amazon my dude. I got the red leather Apple one at launch, but used Amazon on my other ones for my dogs, wallets, etc.

 

[contacos]

Try Amazon my dude. I got the red leather Apple one at launch, but used Amazon on my other ones for my dogs, wallets, etc.

I tried that also but they all ship from China with end of may delivery

 

[nikhsub1]

It's a legitimate gripe. This is a mega fail IMO.

 

[TVreporter]

Major oversight — probably created by single folks who don't have a life outside the Cupertino circle!

Of course they'll probably launch this feature next year with "AirTags Pro."

Knowing that, I think I'll hold off on ordering until there's an update — software or hardware.

 

[carrrrrlos]

Has family tracking.

 

[paulovsouza]

You don’t know how many customers ask to turn Find My iPhone on their kids to track them without them knowing. How many times people have used their kids to spy on their exes. I think this is for the best. Consent goes out the window, and these privileges are abused with some people.

 

[bobbie424242]

AirTag Family Pro+ subscription incoming for just 4.99$ a month.
Losing your stuff and searching for it Pokemon style with your family will never have been so fun !

 

[guerro]

Meanwhile, China is systematically eliminating an entire ethnic group in in the north-western region of Xinjiang. But, hey, I can't track my keys with multiple iMyFind. First World probs, amiright?

 

[Td1970]

I am sure this will come as an update....

This is the problem with Apple. They release things that aren’t ready. Airtags should have offered this feature from the beginning.

I want to but one for my moms keys and her pooch but if I cant track them it’s not worth it to me. And many others I bet too

 

[thewiccaman]

AitTagOS update 1.1 coming soon. Will include Handoff & AirPlay.

 

[dmsmith]

I took for granted that it could be shared. Glad I didn't order any at this time. I'd only want it to track shared items.

 

[LoggerMN]

I am one of those idiots that bought 5 of these in the heat of the pre order moment and now I can’t use either of them really cuz the damn affordable keychain Accessoire isn’t available until the end of June! 😅

"You're using it wrong." Just put an AirTag per user on your key ring, problem solved.

 

[69Mustang]

This is something Apple could easily fix in a future update. But on the other hand, despite the inconvenient that occur in some cases it's also worth mentioning that this is also a good thing, knowing AirTags can't be easily be shared with others which provides more security of the person that actually bought these things.

That makes no sense from a "more security" perspective or any other perspective. The person who bought the tags would be the one choosing to share the tag locations with their family.

You don’t know how many customers ask to turn Find My iPhone on their kids to track them without them knowing. How many times people have used their kids to spy on their exes. I think this is for the best. Consent goes out the window, and these privileges are abused with some people.

You don't seem to have an understanding of how AirTags work. The scenario you described isn't possible with or without the family sharing feature available.

 

[Td1970]

Apple said, thrillions times. it´s not a PERSON tracker!

But it is made for keys. If I can’t help my mom out with that. It’s useless for me. She’s in my family share. I should be able to see her keys.

 

[ani4ani]

To be frank, I'm lost for words...and no Air Tag sharing to find them. sigh

 

[koil]

Thankfully that is a software — not a hardware — limitation, so hopefully they’ll be able to add that soon.

Actually, it's a math limitation. The math they are using to generate the secrets that make this system secure makes it difficult to do anything other than "only trackable by me". In order to "share" the tag, you'd have to either permanently share it, by giving the people you want to share it with the secret, or you'd have to pre-compute the delta-keys and transfer those to the people you want to share it with. They aren't that large, but if you wanted to share a tag for lets say 1 month then you'd have to pre-compute and transfer 1488 keys (2 per hour every day for 31 days), and without re-provisioning the tag you mathematically wouldn't be able to un-share it (though I guess if we're using a trust system then you could technically command the phone to destroy the keys before the month is up).

Furthermore, and I'm absolutely not sure about this, but I'm thinking the more such keys you have the easier it would be to brute force the primary secret? But it's possible the crypto is completely secure against that type of attack. If anyone knows please set me straight on this part.

 

[Black Belt]

Bemoan! Oh the humanity! Good grief

 

[JM]

Easy explanation for all of this:

"Buy a watch for your kids" says Apple.
"Buy a phone for your dog" says Apple.
"Buy an iMac for your spouse's luggage" says Apple.

 

[bobbie424242]

Losing stuff as never been so cool with AirTag.
I hope people lose stuff on purpose to see all that cool tech at work and justify their investment.

 

[now i see it]

This smells eerily similar to the MacBook with just one port

 

[PinkyMacGodess]

Well I certainly waited to see the reviews (which this article is one of them) before buying. Others could too. This is not a product required by law. Centuries people got along without Airtags. Nobody has to buy these things the very second they hit the streets.


Well this is 2021 right? The internet gives us reviews within days of something being announced or released. It's up the consumer to do their homework before buying. If people want to throw money at Apple without checking out all the things they need for the product to do then it's their money and time to gamble with.

Again reading internet reviews would've saved you, especially for such a function that's not a common feature found on washers. There is bound to be people who bought one talking about the Mp3 function...such as you right now. 😁

What did I do to you?

Oh, I quoted your post. Sorry... I thought I was being funny...

 

[123]

I love when Apple defenders feel called to action and come up with the most impractical “solutions” in order to protect Apple’s honor. 🤣

And excuses like "security", can't hear it anymore.

 

[123]

You'd think, given that Apple has been developing operating systems since the late '80s towards the multi-user paradigm (with the basis for that paradigm existing well prior), that they'd not be stupid enough to continue making this mistake.

Ever since I used an iPad I knew that Apple definitely would be that stupid.