Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I think I would rather not have my stuff pinched by tea leaves (I’m British) but it’s nice to know I can find out where they are and lock them.

Used Find My several times- like when my mother in law loses her phone… again…
 
  • Like
Reactions: tinsoldier and uacd
Thus, according to Sweeney the kid who stole Macbook is not a looter, bully or some lil punk but a Robin Hood!
Let him cook... he will reinvent Marxism-Leninism and claim AppStore now belongs to the people of Internet
 
  • Like
Reactions: gusmula
"While technically true, it misses the point: you can't track the location of a device that's in someone's possession without tracking that person, and people have a right to privacy. This right applies to second hand device buyers and even to thieves."

So if someone steals a laptop from me, the technology for me to find my laptop shouldn't exist, because it might be with the thief, and he has a right to privacy from me tracking down my property that he stole since that might let me find him, too.

It...boggles my mind he'd be nutty enough to believe this. I know some fringe types out there think like this; I tend to react with momentary startled disbelief followed by something along the eyes of 'Well, aren't you special?' an internal eye roll, and move on. But this guy is a wealthy big name at a tech.-related company? No one's said anything I recall about known mental illness or drunkeness or being high. He's not a kid. All the mitigating excuses I can think of don't seem to apply.

Now that's bad. It's really bad. But then he publicly stated this, thinking it is somehow obvious to other people he is right about this, presumably expecting a lot to agree with him. He thinks he made a persuasive point!

You know the occasional meme where someone does something or expresses an idea that makes you wonder why they're allowed out without adult supervision, or some similar sentiment, and maybe the line 'They Walk Among Us' or the like is used? Evidently one of 'They' runs a big brand company.
 
So let me get this right: you found your stolen laptop, and you are complaining about it?
 
Someone should correct me if I am wrong, but isn’t “Activation Lock” on the Macs, iPhones, iPads, Apple Vision Pro and Apple Watches tied to the Find My? If he turned off his “Find My” on all his Apple devices that means that they can be erased and reactivated by anyone.
 
Last edited:


Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney today commented on Apple's Find My service, referring to it as "super creepy surveillance tech" that "shouldn't exist."

FindMy-Feature.jpg

Sweeney went on to explain that several years ago, "a kid" stole a Mac laptop out of his car. Years later, Sweeney was checking Find My, and as the Mac was still connected to his Apple ID account, it showed him the location where the thief lived.


Sweeney's take is curious, because providing the location of a lost or stolen device is exactly what the Find My service is meant to do. Apple devices remain tied to a user's account if not removed, a feature that is meant to thwart theft.


After confusion from his Twitter followers over his comments, Sweeney said that the location of a device in someone's possession can't be tracked without tracking the person, and "people have a right to privacy." He claims that detection and recovery of a lost or stolen device should be "mediated by due process of law" and not exposed to the device owner "in vigilante fashion."

When Sweeney saw how Find My worked, he said he turned off the feature on all of his devices.

While Apple's AirTag item trackers have been criticized for their use by stalkers, the Find My service has not been the target of similar complaints. Find My and Activation Lock have been important theft deterrents, cutting down on iPhone theft. Apple recently expanded Activation Lock to include iPhone components to prevent them from being disassembled for parts.

Article Link: Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney Calls Apple's Find My 'Super Creepy Surveillance Tech' That Shouldn't Exist
Did this guy steal something and got caught?
 
This guy really said "I know where my stolen laptop is! Better turn off the tracking on it because it's creepy." :rolleyes:
 
It’s not often I agree with anything written on X but the replies to this stupid complaint, many from Epic fans and supporters of this guy are hilarious.

It seems that he has decided, due to his general dislike of Apple, to bash one of their services however the Internet has responded in an uncharacteristically balanced fashion and told him he’s wrong on this one!

Needless to say, Find My can be disabled by the owner of the devices in question. Unsurprisingly, thieves cannot do this!

I guess he must have forgotten about that one time he set up his Mac, agreed to enable “Find My Mac” and enabled Location Services. And probably didn’t read the EULA either. Ordinarily, not reading or abiding by the EULA isn’t something I’d take issue with but since this guy literally uses them in his company’s software, I’ll make an exception.
 
Up next, Sweeney says it's "super creepy" to report a break-in at your home or business, because thieves have a right to privacy.
Exactly! This is just one of the most idiotic things I’ve ever heard. “I shouldn’t be able to track my computer when someone steals it, because that violates their right to privacy.” I guess I shouldn’t walk into my house while they’re robbing it, because that would “violate their right to privacy”… 🤦🏼‍♂️🙄😂🤣. What a joke. This guys just butt-hurt that Apple doesn’t bow to his whims.
 
I'm tempted to compare this story to the best martini I have ever had. Cheers and a hip-hip-hooray!🍸😹
 
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.