Apple Tries to Limit Offensive AirTag Engravings... With Mixed Results

[MacRumors]

Apple's AirTag item trackers can be custom-engraved using text, numbers, and even emoji, but users looking to express some college humor will likely need to look elsewhere, because Apple's online AirTag personalization tool is easily offended.

An AirTag is just big enough to fit up to four characters or up to three emoji. That might seem just enough to get dubiously creative with your diction, but as The Verge points out, Apple puts pretty strict limitations on what you can emblematize on an AirTag.

For instance, a Pile of Poo emoji can't come after a Horse Face emoji, but other animal-poo combinations are fair game. Similar limitations apply to potentially offensive words spelt out with text, although some customers will surely find their own ways around the system.

This isn't the first time Apple has clipped the wings of would-be comedians and toilet humorists – many of the same emoji restrictions are present on AirPods and iPad engravings, for example. However, the ability to engrave several, more affordable AirTags is likely to introduce more people to Apple's guarded funny side.

AirTags‌‌‌ start at $29 each or $99 for a four-pack. Online orders open this Friday, April 23, with ‌‌‌AirTags‌‌‌ shipping April 30. Engraving is free.

Article Link: Apple Tries to Limit Offensive AirTag Engravings... With Mixed Results

 

[Ted Lasso]

Why no key emoji?

 

[cashville2400]

? I had a nice one planned for my wife

 

[breather]

Should be more emojis of stuff you might want to put an AirTag on....

 

[binkie]

Snowflakes.. Can’t even let a horse take a ****!

 

[zunamo]

Why not restrict to 1 emoji and allow everything. Problem solved.

 

[alternamelka]

I did a good one, C skull emoji N T.
Trying to think of a few more

 

[Mike_Trivisonno]

Thanks, mom.

 

[corkscrew24]

Why do they region restrict the characters you can use? On the Japan store you can use Japanese characters, but not on the UK store (and I presume others)

 

[Populus]

I’m a bit tired of all this “censor” Apple applies to make everything so politically correct. I know this message is going to receive a lot of downvotes but this time I’ll understand it, because it is a controversial comment. Even if MR deletes it, yeah, I can understand.

That said, it feels certainly silly when I try to type (swiping) swearing words on iOS 14 and Apple has forbidden many words and pair of words to appear in the suggestions, thus, making it impossible to use those words by swiping, both in English and Spanish. It feels childish, at least let us disable it if we want! (There are people over 18yo using Apple devices too). And no, including those words into the dictionary no longer works like it did on iOS 13.

On the device engravings I can understand the decision to an extent. But with the iOS keyboard and other areas, I cannot get it.

 

[rmoliv]

Always playing the prudish one.

 

[gvanvoor]

So if you're unlucky enough that your initials spell out something apple doesn't approve you can't have your initials engraved on the air tags either?

 

[imdropbear]

Horse Poo is not okay but Unicorn Poo is? What kind of discrimination is that?

 

[kazmac]

Well, fine I’ll just get ?? instead...

 

[imdropbear]

So if you're unlucky enough that your initials spell out something apple doesn't approve you can't have your initials engraved on the air tags either?

Yes. In Germany you can't put HH (or 88 for that matter) onto it but that was the only combination of 2 letters I could find. Can't find any 2 letters that won't work in the US store but I obviously didn't try all of them.

 

[Paris68]

Love apple hardware and OS/IOS but this reinforcement of a sanitised squeaky clean corporate ethos is off putting. There is no edge. It affects their TV productions. Everything is so "on message" and squeaky clean it's hard to make it through a brief clip let alone an episode.

 

[Feyl]

Priorities! ???

 

[mazz0]

What about ???

 

[anthorumor]

Or like, remove the ? emoji

 

[sdz]

No egg plant no party

Cucumber ok?

 

[HMFIC03]

it seems like it is limited to 4 characters I wanted to put my bitches ? name on it for her collar.

 

[darcyf]

I’m a bit tired of all this “censor” Apple applies to make everything so politically correct. I know this message is going to receive a lot of downvotes but this time I’ll understand it, because it is a controversial comment. Even if MR deletes it, yeah, I can understand.

That said, it feels certainly silly when I try to type (swiping) swearing words on iOS 14 and Apple has forbidden many words and pair of words to appear in the suggestions, thus, making it impossible to use those words by swiping, both in English and Spanish. It feels childish, at least let us disable it if we want! (There are people over 18yo using Apple devices too). And no, including those words into the dictionary no longer works like it did on iOS 13.

On the device engravings I can understand the decision to an extent. But with the iOS keyboard and other areas, I cannot get it.

Apple does not want to be seen as suggesting anything offensive to their customer, same goes for knowingly engraving. That’s not an image they want for themselves and totally their choice not to want that.

 

[Seifensieder]

This isn't the first time Apple has clipped the wings of …

… lets say free speech?

 

[Superhai]

Snowflakes.. Can’t even let a horse take a ****!

You piece of unicorn!
Interestingly it is okay to write ? +?

 

[Akrapovic]

… lets say free speech?

You know you've found an American when they start talking about free speech without understanding that a private company not providing the specific option that you want doesn't come under free speach. But as long as we've got those freedumbs.

----

Anyway. I'd be more interested in the obvious oversights in emojis here. Why is the key emoji not there? Why not a house? and a car? so I can combine emoji into "Car Key" and "House Key" and where is the backpack emoji? It doesn't seem very well through through.