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Tile Adds Undetectable Anti-Theft Mode to Tracking Devices, With $1 Million Fine If Used for Stalking
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The old way didn’t suck. The AirTag way sucks because it makes the product almost pointless and in some cases even worse than not having it at all: some valuable items like a wallet or similar could now become easily found by thieves whereas without AirTag they might have gone unnoticed. Stalkers are such a niche problem that is not worth making a product worse for everybody else for it. Also stalkers will just other products or tamper with AirTags for example removing the speaker. Law enforcement should address stalking, not apple.
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I want this - im using my Airtags in our Bickes, our baby-stroler, and inside some expensive equiptment, but it is really useless if the thive has a modern phone and then disable this...
I have helped a friend use Find my - to successfully get a stolen bag back.. Using "find my" after the purse was stolen from a bar. she got all her content back, including wallet -with ID showing homeadress, phone, carkeys, appartmentkeys - so yes it works
I have helped a friend use Find my - to successfully get a stolen bag back.. Using "find my" after the purse was stolen from a bar. she got all her content back, including wallet -with ID showing homeadress, phone, carkeys, appartmentkeys - so yes it works
I don't get it. Apple only sells them for finding lost items. They were never meant to track stolen items.
I know, right? That’s shorter range than a fricking restraining order. SMH.
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Okay, enough of the total b.s.
Challenge: For every news story you find where a thief has found and got rid of the air tag, I’ll find 10 where the AirTag was used to get the property back. It’s a non issue… seriously, hating for nothing.
Good job completely missing the point of what they are for while complaining you can’t use them for what they’re not for.
I suppose your fridge is junk too because it can’t toast bread.
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I predict it will take less than one year before Tile reports a major security breach in which customers' government ID data was stolen.
I’m a little confused… how have Tile products worked for the past decade before AirTags? Weren’t they originally like what they are offering now? Or have they always beeped and notified others?
And I can find 10 more thieves or potential thieves that don't care about Airtags or fancy GPS tracking and just go for it anyways. It's a non issue.
Semantics. What you’re saying is that apple nerfed an otherwise useful product and for this reason has to market it for less use cases than it could have.
It'll take about two days for this to get abused.
Divorcing couple scenario (ab)use case: Wife leaves husband. Husband buys a Tile and using Wife's credentials he copied just before she left, configures a Tile for Scan and Secure. Husband drops it in his own car. Two days later, husband calls cops and says his wife is stalking him. Cops look and find Tile underneath the seat of husbands car. Wife gets arrested and Tile sues her for the million.
Also, just curious: Who gets the million?
Divorcing couple scenario (ab)use case: Wife leaves husband. Husband buys a Tile and using Wife's credentials he copied just before she left, configures a Tile for Scan and Secure. Husband drops it in his own car. Two days later, husband calls cops and says his wife is stalking him. Cops look and find Tile underneath the seat of husbands car. Wife gets arrested and Tile sues her for the million.
Also, just curious: Who gets the million?
Wow. That's very, very interesting. I had never thought of that. That's going to happen, maybe it is already: Just walk along the street scanning, and only hit the cars with airtags - see what they're attached too. Wow.
This is very silly, but this issue is not the enforceability of a contract or whether or not this would be an actual deterrent. It's the nature of PR and corporate liability.
Stalking is defined differently in various jurisdictions, but it also often comes along with other crimes. Tile (and Apple) aren't really concerned about some antisocial misfit type or possessive ex being creepy. That's not good, and potentially disturbing for the victim, but if a restraining order solves the issue, the billion dollar companies aren't going to worry too much about liability because it won't be a story. Also, they don't care about people.
What they absolutely do worry about is the first time a tracker is used in some high-profile murder or kidnapping, or a major celebrity suing the company for enabling a stranger stalker. In both cases, the corporate concern is entirely about reputation and stock value. By selectively pursuing the fine, even if unsuccessful, Tile can say they've done their legal due diligence when something sensational happens.
There's also the very real chance that some idiot YouTuber crosses a stalkery line using a tracker for a prank or bit and starts a very public debate. It's the same bad PR Tile would want to avoid, and a perfect target for a very public civil suit. Corporate concern is not about protecting the public, but public perception.
Still sounds pretty dumb, right? Well, Tile's lawyers didn't make it dumb, that's just where society is at. And we're all to blame; we read and commented on this story and we'll read and comment on the first big crime story featuring a tracker. Doesn't matter what your opinion is or if you could personally beat the charge or how you know the real best use for the technology or you can imagine some hairbrained loophole; it's already a public conversation and Tile is hedging their company line.
It's all silly because companies can sell a product that might have a net-negative effect on society, be lauded just for bumping their stock price, and be absolved of whatever else through fine print.
But, you know, a tracker can help you find your keys faster! And there's a discount for buying a four-pack!
Stalking is defined differently in various jurisdictions, but it also often comes along with other crimes. Tile (and Apple) aren't really concerned about some antisocial misfit type or possessive ex being creepy. That's not good, and potentially disturbing for the victim, but if a restraining order solves the issue, the billion dollar companies aren't going to worry too much about liability because it won't be a story. Also, they don't care about people.
What they absolutely do worry about is the first time a tracker is used in some high-profile murder or kidnapping, or a major celebrity suing the company for enabling a stranger stalker. In both cases, the corporate concern is entirely about reputation and stock value. By selectively pursuing the fine, even if unsuccessful, Tile can say they've done their legal due diligence when something sensational happens.
There's also the very real chance that some idiot YouTuber crosses a stalkery line using a tracker for a prank or bit and starts a very public debate. It's the same bad PR Tile would want to avoid, and a perfect target for a very public civil suit. Corporate concern is not about protecting the public, but public perception.
Still sounds pretty dumb, right? Well, Tile's lawyers didn't make it dumb, that's just where society is at. And we're all to blame; we read and commented on this story and we'll read and comment on the first big crime story featuring a tracker. Doesn't matter what your opinion is or if you could personally beat the charge or how you know the real best use for the technology or you can imagine some hairbrained loophole; it's already a public conversation and Tile is hedging their company line.
It's all silly because companies can sell a product that might have a net-negative effect on society, be lauded just for bumping their stock price, and be absolved of whatever else through fine print.
But, you know, a tracker can help you find your keys faster! And there's a discount for buying a four-pack!