Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Apple Executive Says AirTags Designed to Track Items, Not Children or Pets

jlocker said:
I agree, you have a $600 bike that gets stolen, it costs a lot more than a Apple tag, or anything like a lawn mower, or snowmobile, or ATV, or boat it goes on and on! People dont realize how many of these things get stolen every year.
Click to expand...
you cant just take the airtag off the bike and throw it away after you steal it?
this whole concept is nonsensical.

Also (re headline): tracking children would be really useful actually especially in a big park like disneyland or the like.
Oh well. Crapples lack of innovation strikes again.
 
Gasu E. said:
How would this random person even know about them?
Click to expand...
Because the AirTag would start beeping three days after the AirTag's owner is away from the item and the AirTag moves even slightly.

Aeronauts said:
“Apple devices act as a crowdsourced monitoring network that helps keep track of ‌AirTags‌”.

I hope there is a way to switch this off if you decide not to participate. I’ve no desire to help anyone find their lost tag.
Click to expand...
If you have a newer iPhone, it is already doing this very thing.
____

There's a lot of debate here over "Lost" vs "Stolen" items, and how AirTags aren't designed to help with stolen items, but what I'm more concerned about is the middle ground of this:

What happens when my Lost item starts beeping and alerts someone who never intended to directly steal from me, that my item is now without its owner and up for grabs? Essentially having the AirTag assist with my item's theft by sending out an audible alert and drawing attention to itself before I am able to get back to it?

If someone nefarious is familiar with AirTags, I imagine that they'll be on the lookout for them, as they can get away with an easy theft by just disabling or tossing the tag.
____

We'll all need to play around with the minutia of these once we get our hands on them, to prevent what might seem like "absurd" or "one-off" scenarios from becoming the new norm.
 
  • Like
Reactions: icanhazapple and centauratlas
They're not great for pets. A dog is going to basically have to be within a distance they can hear you calling their name. Or within a distance of another iPhone user but that's often not possible.

A GPS collar is a MUCH better option and they're only about $10/month but offer so much more.

Friend's got one on his dog. We were up north last weekend and the dog was out roaming the 200+ acres behind the place. There's no one nearby with an iPhone. But he can ping the dog and have the thing vibrate. He can see the exact GPS location. He can turn on the light on his collar to make him easier to see at night. And he can even set geo zones, such as around the cabin, that when the dog goes outside of, he gets a notification. Such a better option than AirTags.
 
To prevent something which happens only in our imagination (someone slips an airtag into your bag like in a spy movie - lol- seriously like that) we will prevent one of the most obvious use cases - theft or pets.

Stalking is a very rare event. Exceptionally rare. Too rare to make rational decisions about (like winning the lottery or talking to a smart and honest politician) or design your products around. Just silly.

This is like suburban moms who read CNN and every report of a child getting stolen and think its common and increasing (its not. Its rare and decreasing).
 
Last edited:
ignatius345 said:
If the thing just quietly kept tracking forever, how would you suggest a safeguard against it not being used to plant on someone to stalk them?
Click to expand...
I would assume since that only happens in movies or once in 10 million it’s not worth worrying about. Its like wearing 3 masks in a park by yourself after you had CV, and got the vaccine.
 
icanhazapple said:
People are still going to do that, no matter what Apple says. People are going to find ways to disable the chime for when it gets out of proximity.

People will find a way to turn this into a 'dumb' tracker, without the liability restrictions Apple is trying to protect itself against.
Click to expand...
Or competitors will.....
 
  • Like
Reactions: centauratlas
jimbobb24 said:
To prevent something which happens only in our imagination (someone slips an airbag into your bag like in a spy movie - lol- seriously like that) we will prevent one of the most obvious use cases - theft or pets.

Stalking is a very rare event. Exceptionally rare. Too rare to make rational decisions about (like winning the lottery or talking to a smart and honest politician) or design your products around. Just silly.

This is like suburban moms who read CNN and every report of a child getting stolen and think its common and increasing (its not. Its rare and decreasing).
Click to expand...
Is it rare?

From the report, 703,000 Americans were victims of stalking in 2016 and twice as many women as men.

I'm guessing Apple doesn't want the potential liability if people used an AirTag to stalk someone.
 
  • Like
Reactions: brucemr
Bonte said:
Wait, what! I can't use it to find my car or bike in the parking lot or something other that I don't carry around with me?
Luggage on air travel, expensive shipments, company cars, ...

I will have to look into that before I buy.
Click to expand...
You can ask Siri to remember where you parked. Then if you can't find your car (or bike), ask "hey Siri where is my car?"

And if you car has bluetooth you don't even need to ask Siri to remember where you parked.
 
Aeronauts said:
“Apple devices act as a crowdsourced monitoring network that helps keep track of ‌AirTags‌”.

I hope there is a way to switch this off if you decide not to participate. I’ve no desire to help anyone find their lost tag.
Click to expand...
you already are!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: brucemr
melevittfl said:
Is it rare?

From the report, 703,000 Americans were victims of stalking in 2016 and twice as many women as men.

I'm guessing Apple doesn't want the potential liability if people used an AirTag to stalk someone.
Click to expand...
That data doesnt cover this use case. It includes things as simple as showing up where they didnt want people to be, or even sending people things they didnt want and talking to their family about them. This is a survey and is equally indicative of paranoia as real events. Women fear stalking because they are stalked more but I still contend it is rare and the evidence provided does not dissuade that the idea of placing an AirTag to track people is the stuff from movies and not common enough to plan for. Theft remains much much higher as an occurrence real people experience.
 
jlocker said:
I agree, you have a $600 bike that gets stolen, it costs a lot more than a Apple tag, or anything like a lawn mower, or snowmobile, or ATV, or boat it goes on and on! People dont realize how many of these things get stolen every year.
Click to expand...
Attention thief...the bike you stole has a tracking tag...would you like to disable the tracking tag to make stealing the bike easier?
 
jimbobb24 said:
Theft remains much much higher as an occurrence real people experience.
Click to expand...
Well, I disagree as to the severity of the potential problem.

But even if you're right, I think the issue is about what Apple could be potentially liable for. I imagine they feel the potential liability for designing a device that could be used to stalk someone is greater than the potential sales for people who want an anti-theft device.
 
jMc said:
IDK, but I hope it’s clever enough to only do this if it doesn’t detect your iPhone close by. If not, public transport just got a lot more annoying. ☺️
Click to expand...
I can already see people disabling nearby airtags with their iPhones just for fun. If airtags become popular, Apple will have to change this function I’m sure.
 
centauratlas said:
She isn't technical and has me do all that stuff, but that isn't the point. The point is, say I do it for the kids who don't have phones.
Click to expand...
I hear you. As with most things Apple, it isn’t made for a family environment. I mean, you can’t even have a unified photo library with your spouse. I can imagine my wife taking my car when running errands, heaven knows nobody likes driving a minivan by yourself, but she’d get a notification every time she’s out that I’m stalking her with my air tag on my car keys.
 
dannys1 said:
It's not a tracker - you're calling it a tracker, it's not and has never been called a tracker, neither has Tile.
Click to expand...
:rolleyes:

94A4752C-F66E-4097-B0FA-62F080AD9B99.jpeg
 
  • Like
Reactions: seinman and Timo_Existencia
azentropy said:
Sure, they would rather us buy a $300 device than. $30 device. Also I assume that means that the next Apple Watch isn't going to require an iPhone and/or Cellular or do we need to get the little buggers an iPhone too!?
Click to expand...
She said a watch with Family Setup which requires a cellular watch, but the user doesn't need their own iPhone. So another $350 at least because cellular model! I think the Family Setup is also handy for elderly parents who don't know how to use a smartphone but want connectivity and health features.
 
Palliser said:
I was thinking the same thing. This could have worked wonders to put on a necklace or wristband or something for a kid at an amusement park.
Click to expand...
Maybe Disney can build them into the already rather high entry tickets...with Mickey's ears as an engraved logo, of course.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back