The AirTag, the Apple sensor behind the cases of harassment in the United States

The AirTag, originally designed to help the distracted find their Apple devices, become a tool of bullyingmotivating user complaints and lawsuits against the manzanita brand.

This coin-sized sensor, which can be had for $29 in the US, is “a really easy way to keep track of things,” according to Apple’s website, which recommends hanging it on your keychain or carrying it in your wallet or in the backpack .

When connected to a smartphone app, an AirTag helps users pinpoint the real-time location of their belongings if lost, but the transmitter can also track the humans carrying those items, sometimes without their knowledge.

That’s what happened to American singer Alison Carney in June 2022, when she found an AirTag in her purse as she was preparing to take the stage at a concert in Chicago.

Carney said he did not put the AirTag there and never received a notification from his iPhone warning him that an unknown accessory was found nearby.

The discovery helped Carney understand several confusing events in his life. Since the end of their tumultuous relationship, her ex-boyfriend had been calling and texting her incessantly, even knocking on her door in the middle of the night or introducing himself. in the restaurants where he ate.

“When we found this AirTag, it became clear I wasn’t crazy. I knew someone was following me,” the young woman, who lives in Washington, told AFP.

“I felt violated. I isolated myself. I stopped going out,” she said. “I know someone has the ability to place a device on my body, in my stuff and track me down for the rest of my life. And (these devices) are getting smaller and harder to detect,” she continued angrily.

Carney isn’t the only one in the US who was followed against her will with an AirTag.

Last June, a 26-year-old man in the state of Indiana was killed by his girlfriend, who tracked his whereabouts via AirTag after she suspected he was cheating on her, according to court documents.

Apple’s response

The latest case dates back to February 5 in Irving, a town north of Dallas, Texas. Robert Reeves, a spokesman for the local police, told AFP that he has already dealt with several cases involving the famous Apple sensor, in which victim and stalker already knew each other.

According to Reeves, the next step after a complaint about this issue is to identify the owner of the account associated with the AirTag, using the item’s serial number.

But because Carney did not file a police report for fear of retaliation, he was unable to find out for sure who it’s behind the AirTag you found in your bag.

Contacted by AFP, Apple sent a press release published in February 2022 condemning “in the strongest possible terms any harmful use” of its product and assured that the updates promised in that statement “have already entered into force”.

However, more is needed to convince Lauren Hughes and Jane Doe (name used in the US when the person wants to remain anonymous), who have filed a lawsuit against Apple in California.

Doe said that after the divorce, her ex-husband twice attached an AirTag to their son’s backpack.

And in a lawsuit filed in December, Hughes said he found an AirTag, colored with a sharpie and wrapped in a plastic bag, attached to the wheel arch of his car.

In court documents, both women challenge Apple over what they see as a warning insufficient for users on this sensor.

Company-sent AirTag alerts aren’t necessarily immediate, and are only available on iPhones running iOS 14.5 or later.

In addition to older Apple devices, Android phone owners are worrying Albert Cahn, a Harvard University researcher and executive director of the Surveillance Technology Monitoring Project.

“Android users can only discover devices if they download an Apple app and then specifically search for AirTags. Does Apple expect Android users to spend their days constantly checking that they aren’t being tracked?” Cahn told AFP.

With information from AFP