Thanks for clarifying this ... and link to the white paper - this will make for good reading. CheersApple can't track any tags, and neither can anyone else except the owner. Basically, the position reports by finder devices are encrypted with a public key sent out by the tag, and the corresponding private key is only known to the owner of the Apple ID that the tag is associated with. If the tag is close to the owner, the owner's phone detects it's BT/UWB signal directly, which again doesn't disclose the location to Apple.
If you want to know the technical details, they are described in this paper:
Who Can Find My Devices? Security and Privacy of Apple's Crowd-Sourced Bluetooth Location Tracking System
Overnight, Apple has turned its hundreds-of-million-device ecosystem into the world's largest crowd-sourced location tracking network called offline finding (OF). OF leverages online finder devices to detect the presence of missing offline devices using Bluetooth and report an approximate...arxiv.org
To clarify ... I didn’t say any finder of an AirTag ... I was specific (I think) to a theif moving about with an AirTag.You said a finder of a tag shouldn't be able to stay anonymous, that's what I disagree with. Sure, sometimes it could perhaps help to identify a thief. But in many more cases it would compromise the privacy of innocent people who happen to be near enough to the tag that their phone can detect it.
To be clear a thief would not be the owner of an AirTag.
By design, as you’ve clarified Apple cannot track.
However AirTag’s knows the owner is moving with an AirTag ... how is this different if a theif or a stranger that finds lost/stolen item moves with the AirTag connected item continuously for any short or long period of time then?
The AirTag is still communicating as you’ve stated to the iOS compatible device and updating location along the way.
- tracked. Encrypted or not, Apple doing it directly or just the technology letting presence known ... the AirTag is tracking or being tracked by iOS compatible device holder. By this design ... even if said person is not a thief, just a stranger unknowingly or knowingly (carrying item to meet you) is being tracked for the period of carrying AirTagged item.
If an AirTag is faulty, how would Apple know when customer contacts support?
How would Apple know it’s ok to replace or refund the device to the purchaser? Do they just go by their word? Potential grey area I don’t know.
Guess white paper would help me understand and may answer these questions I may have.
I’m curious