I think they meant a thief could use the tags to pretend to be a nice person and then steal the lost items.
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iOS 15.2 Adds Option to Scan for Nearby AirTags and Find My-Enabled Items
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And if you lost your bag in a public place, it will very likely be picked up by someone.....again, useless item.
What's next, they will allow an app to turn off find my iPhone in my lost iPhone to respect the Privacy of the individual that took it?
I get that Apple wants to prevent stalking, but this seems to be swinging the pendulum to the other extreme.
If I were a thief, I'd walk around with Find My enabled and scan for AirTags for bags to steal. If someone is buying AirTags and attaching them to a bag, that already suggests very useful information to a would-be thief (likely value of the contents, likely socio-economic status of its owner, etc.). Let's just say my poor uncle living on veterans benefits isn't attaching AirTags to his grocery bags.
Meanwhile, this is also blunting the value of the device to their users at a time when other crucial features (Family Sharing) are still lacking.
If I were a thief, I'd walk around with Find My enabled and scan for AirTags for bags to steal. If someone is buying AirTags and attaching them to a bag, that already suggests very useful information to a would-be thief (likely value of the contents, likely socio-economic status of its owner, etc.). Let's just say my poor uncle living on veterans benefits isn't attaching AirTags to his grocery bags.
Meanwhile, this is also blunting the value of the device to their users at a time when other crucial features (Family Sharing) are still lacking.
Apple has never advertised air tags as to find stolen items.you are trying to use them for unauthorized purposes.
I hope this was sarcasm because first, they weren't designed for stolen items. Second, if your item is lost, the chances the person who finds it and keeps it using this feature on their phone instead of just finding it are 1 in a million.
Thieves will love this amazing feature.
So I can’t use them for tracking my things that move about a lot or things that are at risk for being taken.
So they are designed to be used for items that don’t move, no one wants, and I often forget where they are.
Wonderful.
So they are designed to be used for items that don’t move, no one wants, and I often forget where they are.
Wonderful.
I'd much rather people be able to prevent stalking attempts. Your stolen property can be dealt with but stalking can lead to serious injury or worse. Grow up people
One issue is that Apple is having trouble differentiating between tracking and stalking. Maybe it’s the right choice, but it’s frustrating.
Does it fix FaceID on iPhone 13 Pro Max?
Mine died yesterday after stuttering for a day... removed it and tried to redo it. No luck. Fails.
Gather it might have something to so with the validatino of repaired screens... but mine is original unrepaired and not happy ;(
Mine died yesterday after stuttering for a day... removed it and tried to redo it. No luck. Fails.
Gather it might have something to so with the validatino of repaired screens... but mine is original unrepaired and not happy ;(
This is such a hastily/poorly thought out move. Apple needs to be smarter in how they do this.
I have a pretty pricey bike that I literally use as my sole mode of transportation in the city that I live in. I always lock it up. The worst I've ever experienced is someone glueing the lock, and it took the locksmith 15 minutes to cut the thing off (an ABUS Granite). But I'm still cautious and so I hid an AirTag in one of the forks.
For the most part, this now renders that useless. I went ahead and added another AirTag mounted on the exterior of the frame. Hopefully any would-be bike thief will detect the obvious one using this god-awful functionality and not even notice that there is a 2nd hidden away. But that's wishful thinking at this point.
They've completely bastardized their own product all in the name of a knee-jerk reaction.
I have a pretty pricey bike that I literally use as my sole mode of transportation in the city that I live in. I always lock it up. The worst I've ever experienced is someone glueing the lock, and it took the locksmith 15 minutes to cut the thing off (an ABUS Granite). But I'm still cautious and so I hid an AirTag in one of the forks.
For the most part, this now renders that useless. I went ahead and added another AirTag mounted on the exterior of the frame. Hopefully any would-be bike thief will detect the obvious one using this god-awful functionality and not even notice that there is a 2nd hidden away. But that's wishful thinking at this point.
They've completely bastardized their own product all in the name of a knee-jerk reaction.
Apple seems to be making it as hard as possible on purpose to make AirTags useless for anti-theft purposes. This could have been a groundbreaking product; imagine thieves being afraid to steal anything because it might have an AirTag in it? I would have bought one for my bike and my backpack. But nope, not the case because Apple makes it so trivial to find and disable.
I totally get the anti-stalking angle, but seriously... There's plenty of tracking devices stalkers can buy to track someone that are even better than AirTags.
Apple went the wrong way with AirTags, in my opinion. I suspect they're terrified of lawsuits from stalking victims.
I totally get the anti-stalking angle, but seriously... There's plenty of tracking devices stalkers can buy to track someone that are even better than AirTags.
Apple went the wrong way with AirTags, in my opinion. I suspect they're terrified of lawsuits from stalking victims.
This feature has a lot of potential for burglars.
Many people have AirTags always with them attached to keys or in a wallet. If you want to break into someone’s house, just check if there are fewer AirTags around than when the home owner is obviously at home.
Many people have AirTags always with them attached to keys or in a wallet. If you want to break into someone’s house, just check if there are fewer AirTags around than when the home owner is obviously at home.
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What's a more convenient way to track someone than an air tag?
So, now a thief just has to run this to see if the stuff he's about to steal is tagged? How is this an improvement? And don't tell me Air Tags were never designed to be used as anti-theft devices because that's exactly what people *are* using them for.
I'm on an airplane or bus, and I scan for air tags and disable them all. lol. Those keys you think you want to find when you lose them, *disabled*.
Oh ok, now I see how this can be used for nefarious purposes. Basically if you're in a public place you can now see who has AirTags, and those people are likely to be fairly wealthy and hence target for pickpocketing.
Couldn't a robber already just remove the tag and throw it in the trash?
Who says they haven't thought about this?
If I walk into a room, any AirTags present have obviously not been tracking my location because I just came upon them, so doing a scan should not reveal those to me at all.
If I'm on a train and there's a passenger near me who has an AirTag with them, that tag is in the presence of its owner, so it's also not being used to track me, so again it wouldn't show up in a scan.
If I do a scan and my phone thinks, "Hmm... I've been in Bluetooth range if this one for ten minutes now even though you've been constantly moving, the the tag's owner isn't anywhere near here." then that is definitely a candidate for one that might be tracking my location.
This seems to resolve the issue of your phone not reporting a concern until too long of a time has passed and a stalker has already got the information they need.
Apple introduces AirTag
Apple today introduced AirTag, an accessory that works with iPhone and other Apple devices to track and find important belongings.
www.apple.com
Zero mentions of the word "Stolen"
So for everyone thinking that they can use the Air Tags to find stolen items, just remember, that's NOT what they were designed for.
You wanna use them for that then go right ahead, but quit whining that these 15.2 features make such a purpose less useful.
Another anti-consumer feature. Criminals will use this to scan for valuables in cars.
Any feature that prevents stalking also reduces its ability to track lost items.
Many commented that AirTags are meant for tracking lost items, not stolen items.
Stolen items are by default lost items. Lost items do not necessarily mean they are stolen.
If AirTags can only be used to track items inside my home, thanks but no thanks, I WANT MY MONEY BACK.
Many commented that AirTags are meant for tracking lost items, not stolen items.
Stolen items are by default lost items. Lost items do not necessarily mean they are stolen.
If AirTags can only be used to track items inside my home, thanks but no thanks, I WANT MY MONEY BACK.
HOW DO YOU TELL AN ITEM IS STOLEN, NOT LOST?
Stolen items are lost items by default. An item is lost when it is not in your possession and you don't know where it is. You are trying to make a difference in HOW the item is lost. But HOW? You can't, until you've found it.