Would love to see how many times I am alerted on a subway train car surrounded by apple fanboys.
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Apple Enhancing AirTags Anti-Stalking Measures With Android App and Shorter Sound Intervals
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This is where over the air updates, post purchase becomes a strange and complicated issue. I don't remember clicking a button that said Apple could reduce the capability of the devices I ordered after I paid for it... Yet are we are - paid for air-tags that now Apple has made less appealing because I have to worry about them beeping, or if I leave my computer bag in my friend's car while at the lake they'll now be notified that I was trying to stalk them or something after 8 hours.
That being said - if someone really wanted to stalk another person, there are literally thousands of cheap devices, GPS locators, etc. available on the web for those interested in such actions.
I also wonder how many people are now inspired to stalk their SO after reading all about these concerns about stalking.
That being said - if someone really wanted to stalk another person, there are literally thousands of cheap devices, GPS locators, etc. available on the web for those interested in such actions.
I also wonder how many people are now inspired to stalk their SO after reading all about these concerns about stalking.
You’re correct. The sound only plays if it’s away from its owner for a certain amount of time and is then moved. So you can leave them at home for days/weeks/months and it won’t make a sound unless someone else takes it.
I have a couple female friends who would vehemently disagree with you.
You’ll be alerted 0 times. They don’t send out an alert if they’re connected to the owner’s iPhone.
8 hours seems way too short if I leave an AirTag at home while I'm at work.
Working in healthcare and seeing battered partners and children come in to the ED with the same DV complaint over and over and over and over and over again... yeah it's a problem. Government family service systems sucks, and do not keep people safe. To prove that, we've seen people come into the ED with a case number of, say, 11111111B or 11111111B2.
A case number with a 'B', for example, means that this is the second time a complaint has been filed. 'B2' or 'C2', for example, means they have gone through the entire alphabet - 26 complaints - and the abuser is still free. We've seen this.
I applaud apple for making these changes.
EDIT: lol, what exactly are you disagreeing with, @rafark? Pray tell.
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Yes, it is strange that Apple cares more about the safety of humans than the safety of inanimate objects. 😏
You didn’t click a button but you certainly agreed to Apple’s T&Cs and/or EULAs, which absolutely say that Apple can update their software/firmware at any time.
Great. Can they now update them to allow me to share them with members of my family?
This will have a huge negative impact on the ability of AirTags to fullfill their primary role of finding your lost items.
The range of circumstances in which you are able to recover your lost items without risking not recovering those lost items because others were notified is being further reduced.
The only conceivable solution to this problem is an account-by-account algorithmic honour system of sorts that determines the difference between Safe-guarding items & Genuine stalking by tracking the trends of behaviour of all the Airtags attached to someone’s account in relation to other people’s devices over time. But even that is a slippery slope that unnecessarily over-complicates what was supposed to be a simple-use tracking gadget.
And those who genuinely want to stalk a particular person will still find ways to do so, including putting the AirTag in a case tight enough to prevent the speakers from working (possible by simply applying pressure to both sides of the AirTag). Or using a case thick enough to purposely block the signal and reduce the frequency at which it connnects to local iDevices, tricking the algorithm that determines whether an item is travelling with someone or not.
The range of circumstances in which you are able to recover your lost items without risking not recovering those lost items because others were notified is being further reduced.
The only conceivable solution to this problem is an account-by-account algorithmic honour system of sorts that determines the difference between Safe-guarding items & Genuine stalking by tracking the trends of behaviour of all the Airtags attached to someone’s account in relation to other people’s devices over time. But even that is a slippery slope that unnecessarily over-complicates what was supposed to be a simple-use tracking gadget.
And those who genuinely want to stalk a particular person will still find ways to do so, including putting the AirTag in a case tight enough to prevent the speakers from working (possible by simply applying pressure to both sides of the AirTag). Or using a case thick enough to purposely block the signal and reduce the frequency at which it connnects to local iDevices, tricking the algorithm that determines whether an item is travelling with someone or not.
AirTags are not an anti-theft device.
Of course not. All it takes is enough of the right people being very loud about it on the right platforms. Reality does not matter in a world where social media exists.
Agreed. This is completely ridiculous. Every single thing they do in this regard limits the legitimate usefulness of the product.
So if I’m an Android user I have to download an Apple made app because Apple makes a thing that could cause a problem?
Apple didn't invent location identification technologies.
GPS and Bluetooth are basic facts of life - and there will be many more technologies to join them.
If you're really worried about stalking, maybe consider getting detection equipment.
GPS and Bluetooth are basic facts of life - and there will be many more technologies to join them.
If you're really worried about stalking, maybe consider getting detection equipment.
Useless journalist complaining ruins another thing
They were already excessive as stalking via these devices is so rare (as is stalking in general) that designing these features was always dumb. Apple is killing a good product running from phantoms.
AirTags shipped with 1.0.225. The new version will be 1.0.276.
Got to appease the snowflakes
