The anti-stalking features have a cry wolf problem

[AlastorKatriona]

Between myself, my wife, and other family members, we have plenty of AirTags for tracking different belongings, and we regularly run into the alerts for "An AirTag is moving with you". Lately it seems every time my wife and I are in the car and driving, especially if its not a typical route, this will get triggered because we are each carrying one or more personal AirTags.

It's clearly a glitch too, not intended behavior, because it doesn't happen all the time or in all circumstances. The default behavior of a husband and wife who each have an AirTag on their keychain and travel together in the same vehicle should never be this alert. Regardless of whether the AirTag is "shared" in the Find My app, or not. There have even been several occasions where my own set of AirPods have been falsely detected as a random AirTag that is traveling with me.

The main point of this is, I've seen this alert so many times as a false positive that there is almost no chance I would ever recognize a legitimate example of it. I'm not concerned for myself, but it does somewhat concern me for my wife or other family members who may learn to disregard this message. And I don't feel like it can even be corrected, because the damage is already done.

 

[chrfr]

Between myself, my wife, and other family members, we have plenty of AirTags for tracking different belongings, and we regularly run into the alerts for "An AirTag is moving with you". Lately it seems every time my wife and I are in the car and driving, especially if its not a typical route, this will get triggered because we are each carrying one or more personal AirTags.

It's clearly a glitch too, not intended behavior, because it doesn't happen all the time or in all circumstances. The default behavior of a husband and wife who each have an AirTag on their keychain and travel together in the same vehicle should never be this alert. Regardless of whether the AirTag is "shared" in the Find My app, or not. There have even been several occasions where my own set of AirPods have been falsely detected as a random AirTag that is traveling with me.

The main point of this is, I've seen this alert so many times as a false positive that there is almost no chance I would ever recognize a legitimate example of it. I'm not concerned for myself, but it does somewhat concern me for my wife or other family members who may learn to disregard this message. And I don't feel like it can even be corrected, because the damage is already done.

If you share these Airtags with each other you won't get these alerts: Share an AirTag or other item in Find My on iPhone - Apple Support

 

[JPack]

There's no PR fire around excessive anti-stalking features. On the other hand, a single story of stalking has the potential to be like Batterygate. The choice is obvious for Apple.

 

[EllaWilson3]

The issue with AirTags' anti-stalking features is that they sometimes send false alerts. For instance, if you and your wife both have AirTags, you might get messages saying "An AirTag is moving with you" when you're together in the car. This happens because the system can't always tell the difference between your AirTags.It seems like a mistake rather than something done on purpose because it doesn't happen all the time. It's annoying because even if you share your AirTag's location, you still get these alerts. Sometimes, even your own things like AirPods can cause false alerts.

 

[FreakinEurekan]

Do you have iOS up to date on your phones? My wife & I just returned from a week’s vacation (all in “unfamiliar” locations) and prior to leaving I set up 4 AirTags - two for me, two for her, all shared to the other person. She had one in her purse, I had one in my camera bag, and we both had them in our luggage. We never encountered this problem. We of course got “left behind” notifications when we left something in the room but never an “unknown item traveling with you.”

That sounds like buggy behavior, so possibly Apple fixed the bug and we are updated and you’re not - or possibly you’re meeting some condition that triggers the bug and we’re not.

 

[EllaWilson3]

For me, AirTags seem too buggy, so no wonder people face issues like this. Well, we hope they will fix these bugs when the new gen of AirTags appears.

 

[someoneoutthere]

The issue with AirTags' anti-stalking features is that they sometimes send false alerts. For instance, if you and your wife both have AirTags, you might get messages saying "An AirTag is moving with you" when you're together in the car. This happens because the system can't always tell the difference between your AirTags.It seems like a mistake rather than something done on purpose because it doesn't happen all the time. It's annoying because even if you share your AirTag's location, you still get these alerts. Sometimes, even your own things like AirPods can cause false alerts.

Have you tried starting a “family” under your Apple ID settings? Me and my significant other frequently travel together with a number of AirTags and we’ve never had a problem.

 

[EllaWilson3]

Nice idea! But we've reached that point in our relationships when we don't wanna have any joint accounts. Especially Apple accounts, when it comes to music, movies, books, and my partner's stupid games.

 

[alondoo]

This is interesting. What if you are going on a work excursion and there 30 other people in the group that is also using iPhones? Will AirTag notifications hit everyone else as well?

Alarms are necessary but false alarms are not.
In that light I wonder if “open-list notification” as I would call it is the way to go.

Similar to how bluetooth works, you always see what bluetooth enabled devices are nearby.
If we always see whose AirTags are nearby, we can tell if an unrecognised one that’s suspicious should raise our concern.

Which also means AirTags then become impossible to hide.
Well, they were (designed and) meant to be found right? So it would be something of an improvement.

Details:
Only owners will get tracking details.
Others, will only know that there is one present nearby without tracking info so that they’re only meant to report to authorities if need but not being helped to locate it if not the owner.

 

[someoneoutthere]

Nice idea! But we've reached that point in our relationships when we don't wanna have any joint accounts. Especially Apple accounts, when it comes to music, movies, books, and my partner's stupid games.

Family share has nothing to do with creating a joint account. Family share allows you to share eligible subscriptions, purchases, items etc. with up to 5 different Apple IDs (6 total including the “master” account.)
Feel free to read more here: https://www.apple.com/family-sharing/

 

[oleviatracy]

If you share these Airtags with each other you won't get these alerts: Share an AirTag or other item in Find My on iPhone - Apple Support

Yes this is regulatory.

 

[tywebb13]

Apple has lost a bid to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that its AirTag devices help stalkers track their victims.

US District Judge Vince Chhabria in San Francisco has ruled that three plaintiffs in the class-action suit had made sufficient claims for negligence and product liability, though he dismissed the others.

About three dozen women and men who filed the suit alleged that Apple was warned of the risks posed by its AirTags and argued the company could be legally blamed under California law when the tracking devices are used for misconduct.

In the three claims that survived, the plaintiffs “allege that, when they were stalked, the problems with the AirTag’s safety features were substantial, and that those safety defects caused their injuries,” Chhabria wrote.

Apple had argued it designed the AirTag with “industry-first” safety measures and shouldn’t be held responsible when the product is misused.

“Apple may ultimately be right that California law did not require it to do more to diminish the ability of stalkers to use AirTags effectively, but that determination cannot be made at this early stage,” the judge wrote in allowing the three plaintiffs to pursue their claims.

A spokesperson for the company didn’t immediately return an email requesting comment on Friday's ruling.
Apple was accused in the case of negligently releasing the AirTag despite warnings by advocacy groups and others that the product would be re-purposed for surveillance.

“With a its price point it has become the weapon of choice of stalkers and abusers,” according to the complaint.

Apple developed a feature that alerts users when an AirTag might be tracking them, but that and other safety measures aren’t enough, according to the suit.

Tile Inc. is facing similar allegations that its tracking devices connected to Amazon.com Inc.’s Bluetooth network lack adequate protections against stalking.

Apple Must Face Suit Claiming AirTags Are Weapon of Stalkers

Apple Inc. lost a bid to dismiss a lawsuit alleging that its AirTag devices help stalkers track their victims.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[AsherN]

This is interesting. What if you are going on a work excursion and there 30 other people in the group that is also using iPhones? Will AirTag notifications hit everyone else as well?

No. The "Airtag near you" only triggers if the phone it's registered to is not in range.