Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
This almost seems unreal. Since when is it not ok to track down your stolen items? It seems the left has given the crooks and illegals more rights than good law-abiding citizens. I just can't get my reasonable head around this. I track all my items of value.

You shoehorning this into a political issue is hilariously similar to Tim Sweeney making Find My a privacy issue. You guys related?
 
  • Haha
Reactions: wbeasley
Love Find My! Can see exactly when my wife is getting home (we both share live location), can check if my son stays at school and with AirTags hidden in my travel luggage, my vehicles, my bike, etc I can geolocate my property when it is stolen or lost. If you buy second-hand Apple devices just make sure that the former owner has logged off from its account, and sign it with your account. Easy!
 
I am smelling some sort of ill motivation along with foreign funding associated with Tim Sweeney, that's why he keeps attacking Apple. May be this is one of the small effort out of many to crack down one of the most profitable US company.
 


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: Apple's Find My Is 'Super Creepy Surveillance Tech' That Shouldn't Exist, Says Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney
 
There's this group of, in their own eyes, super important people who has a lot to say about things. Some things like this from Sweeney is just plain weird, as he should try himself to get out of the house or his little 1 bedroom apartment, and see if leaving his phone behind and putting on an analogue watch, will also let him be free of being geolocated.. it's not that hard a concept to follow this Find My.
 
Rich idiot missing the point of the thing he's complaining about, shock
If you are so rich as this idiot, you don't care if you lose your laptop, your luggage or other property. Insurance will handle that and you just buy a new one (or your assistant buys you a new one and handles it to you). Fast search on the internet for Sweeney, and I cant find any trace of wife or kids, so if this idiot is also child-less, it also make sense that he can't appreciate the piece of mind that Find My gives you when you have kids. And even if he has kids, wife and other close family members, these persons have a personal chauffeur and security 24/7. He doesn't need Find My to locate his loved ones.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: davide_eu
I feel like that’s really on the kid for stealing it in the first place.
For this guy, having his Mac stolen is like I'm loosing a penny. Obviously, as billionaire he doesn't care and thinks that normal people also don't care loosing thousand of dollars worth of property. The only "issue" he sees in this situation is related to the privacy of the kid that stole his Mac. Many things could make sense if you try to look them from the perspective of filthy-rich person.
 
Don't ignore this, people. This could be the starting point of the "Find My" feature being disabled in the EU. Apple may also face audits in several countries, and possibly even fines.

Do you think politicians will act fairly towards American companies and genuine consumer needs? Or will they seize the opportunity to trigger their population with socialist narratives for votes?
 
  • Like
  • Wow
Reactions: drrich2 and gusmula
Here’s a comment: I think that Apple’s business practices concerning the distribution of applications on iOS/iPadOS are monopolistic and should be moderated by government, and I also think that Tim Sweeney’s view of FindMy is calculated hysteria and should not be taken seriously.
 
Written by someone who probably doesn't visit Starbucks without private security.
 


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: Apple's Find My Is 'Super Creepy Surveillance Tech' That Shouldn't Exist, Says Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney
The real point is


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: Apple's Find My Is 'Super Creepy Surveillance Tech' That Shouldn't Exist, Says Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney

The real point is that this service is against GDPR. To manage somebody else data (the location of the "tag"), I need somebody else approval... In addition, if my mobile is used to track somebody else, I need to be informed and approve this transaction.

Please note the data encryption is formally a risk mitigation, to reduce the impact in case somebody is able to stole the data. But using encryption doesn't allow you to manage somebody else data.
 
For second hand computers you should always ensure find my is disabled on it. IIRC it will have an activation lock on it if the original owner did not do this. Once disabled the original owner has no way to track you. There is no issue here.
And if you want to re-enable? Guys, you know: this trick has been done by a$$le to prevent the second-hand market...

EU, where are you? There is more for you!!
 
This almost seems unreal. Since when is it not ok to track down your stolen items? It seems the left has given the crooks and illegals more rights than good law-abiding citizens. I just can't get my reasonable head around this. I track all my items of value.
That the heck does this have to do with 'the left'? Are you insane??
 
Unpopular opinion here... You take my SIHT, your rights are forfeit until I receive my stolen item(s) and you are taught a life lesson. Yes I'm from NY and this IS some New York Siht!
Sounds about right. Citizens have rights and duties. When you give up on your duties, your rights should also be forfeit.
 
  • Like
Reactions: mac-imperator
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.