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No, it's a small tracking tool. It can be used maliciously just like most tools, but in this case it has plenty of legitimate use cases. No reason to fill your diapers over it.
in addition to what you said i feel like there’s probably better versions of this that aren’t apple
Unfortunately, not really. The competing products in this category are either useless once you're out of bluetooth range (Tile) or are GPS devices with a ton of problems (extremely short battery life, mandatory data plan subscriptions, large size) and none of it runs on or interfaces with open source software.
I imagine you could get something like this for much cheaper that runs on open source software and isn’t limited to one company’s phones.
And doesn't notify you if they are being used to stalk you like the AirTag does.
The really interesting piece, is that these tags use the WAN connections of nearby Apple devices to transmit their location. No opt out for the device owners. Totally insecure.
What makes it insecure exactly? It's one way communication from the AirTag to the phones around it, so none of your info is compromised.
It can hijack a free ride on nearby Apple device WANs. Id not say this is a widespread low effort problem but surely state actors are aware and could utilize for mischief.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2021/05/14/apple-airtags-hacked-again-free-internet-with-no-mobile-data-plan/amp/
The title there is extremely misleading. It can send messages to Apple's servers through your phone. Exactly what it's programmed for, what does it matter if those messages have been modified by the sender? That's a problem between the sender and Apple, not you.
Please tell me then what kind of messages could be sent at such a low bandwidth, only to Apple's servers, with no possibility of a reply, only receivable by a device also owned by the sender, that would do harm to anyone else.
Do you work for Apple or something? Why do you seem to be taking this personally? I'll link you another article where experts speculate on the problem. https://positive.security/blog/send-my
You not personally finding a concern is different than there not being any concern.
That's mainly just describing how it works. Again, I don't see what kind of data could be sent that could be concerning. So if you have any ideas please tell me. Like how does this in any way harm the owner of whatever phone ends up getting used?
The use cases given in your link are exfiltrating data from a high security (to the point of using Faraday cages) site, which pretty much leaves only governments and major corporations as targets and depleting random people's mobile data by some insignificant amount.
I don't work for Apple, I just don't like dumb fear of technology from people who don't seem to understand the technology in the first place. Did you even read the links you sent me or did you just read the headlines and decide it was scary? Literally all it does is give someone an unreliable, extremely slow, one way internet connection limited to a single server to send data to themselves. They even acknowledge that:
However, such a scheme seems highly unreliable and probably unusable in real-world situations due to its very low bandwidth (especially with restriction such as 16 AirTags per Apple ID it seemed like data transfer could be limited to only a few bits per hour).
It's a non-issue.
Don't be an asshole. Yes, I read the links. I'm not a moron. I'm not "afraid". I find a device sending data over a connection without the owner of that connection agreeing to be a middle man, incredibly problematic. Call it an ideological objection.
Buddy, ask yourself why you're this way and perhaps consider whether it's getting you what you want out of life.
If, to feel good about yourself, you need to hear me grovel, I'll do it. You totally destroyed me. I'm a simpleton next to your majestic intellect. We are all in awe.
So I guess it basically uploads your GPS coords to Apple servers even when you have find my location turned off?
My undiagnosed but I swear they have it ADHD partner needs something like this for their keys, they lose track of essentially anything that leaves their field of view for more than 10 seconds lol. I gotta remember where all my stuff is AND all their stuff. Too bad itd just be used by Apple for tracking data.
They have little things you can put on your keys that beep or vibrate that operate on local rf and stuff without all the :1984:
There's no need for it to be any more sophisticated than a pager
Check out Tile, I'm also p sure I've got ADHD or some shit like it and it has been a fuckin lifesaver for me
AFAIK Vtuber agencies had to stop accepting physical gifts to their talents because would-be stalkers would hide these in them
I think the agency accepts the package, makes sure it's not a bomb, then forwards it to the real address. Basically, a more advanced P.O. box. But air tags are about the size of quarter, so it's 1000x harder to verify packages of producs were not opened then re-shrinkwrapped after an airtag was shoved into styrofoam or between cardboard layers.
This is different in that it uses the population of iPhone users as a mesh-like network with multiple uplinks, rather than a direct cell connection of its own.
Your phone already does this. Tbh whenever my dad loses his keys I wish he had a tracking device on them.
Holy shit people really wanna misunderstand technology to get mad at it.
You get notified if there's a tag following you that doesn't belong to you. There are much easier ways to stalk someone, including other, cheaper GPS tags.
You get notified if there’s a tag following you that doesn’t belong to you
This is more disturbing. This is active on every iphone?
How is it more disturbing to know that a tag is following you so you can do something about it than to not know at all?
What if I have an Android phone and wasn't already aware that I need to download a third party app to let me know that an airtag is following me?
From what I've read it's trivial to disable the speaker.
EDIT: Also I'm not okay with being tracked for three days either. And I've heard that the noise is a relatively quiet chirping that only lasts ~15 seconds at a time.
yeah I know apple made a dedicated stalking device, it's called the iPhone!!!
I have the non-apple version of this, called the Tile, and it has been an absolute lifesaver for me. But, and I must be an absolute fucking moron, I never even considered the stalkery implications.
I wonder though, is it really any worse than a cellphone?
No, it really isn't. A dedicated device that requires you be near it in the case of the tile, or another iPhone owner be near it to update its location, and can be relatively easily found on one's person and removed from someone's life is way less dangerous than, say, a hidden app that a stalker installs on their victim's phone without their knowledge. No physical device, no physical evidence, just a little tiny piece of software that just phones home to the stalker to let them know where your phone (and you) are. I've seen this shit dozens of times when working in tech support. At several times in Android's history, it was super easy to make this shit entirely invisible outside of the apps list in the device settings and even there, list it as though it's a core piece of device software, like some diagnostics or specific settings sub-app. It's also been possible to install things like that remotely at a few points.
So, no, this is actually way less dangerous than a cell phone could be, but could theoretically have a lower barrier to entry for someone who wants to stalk someone, but doesn't really want to put in very much effort, I suppose.
I wish i didn't live in :19::84: or else those sound pretty neat, I hate losing shit
There's absolutely nothing one of these would do to make you less secure. It can't track you any more than your phone can.
Should be called the iStalkU, following Apple product naming conventions.
you uh, seem to be pretty passionate about this specific topic
I just hate seeing these dumb "technology bad" posts. People don't understand the technology so they act like it's some horrible thing.
It specifically has measures to mitigate attempts to use it to stalk, and there are plenty of alternatives to it that are cheaper and better able to be used for stalking than the AirTag.
And you can see from others in this thread that it's a beneficial technology to people who have trouble keeping track of things, including people with ADHD.
no, you're right. people can get a bit carried away with this stuff. it's just not worth getting worked up over or anything, that's all
edit: also as someone with adhd i can definitely see the appeal
