Apple’s AirTag 2 Must Address Stalking Risks

The first generation of Apple’s AirTags was unveiled in April 2021. Since then, Apple users have found creative ways to track anything that moves via these tiny disc-shaped devices.

Using the ‘Find My’ app, owners can easily track the exact location of their keys, wallet, luggage, pets — even their children.

Three years later, the now ubiquitous AirTags have dramatically dropped in price, but as with any tools, people find a way to abuse them, with an increasing number of reports of people using the trackers to illegally spy and stalk people.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Apple will be looking to banish the stalking problem that has tarnished the product with the AirTag 2 release.

We investigate how people use AirTags as stalking devices and what Apple can do about the problem.

Table of Contents Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. When AirTags Become Tools for Stalkers and Killers
3. How Criminals Are Using AirTags to Track and Steal Cars
4. Defending Yourself Against Apple AirTag Stalking
5. The Bottom Line
6. References

Show Full Guide

Table of Contents

1. Key Takeaways
2. When AirTags Become Tools for Stalkers and Killers
3. How Criminals Are Using AirTags to Track and Steal Cars
Show Full Guide
4. Defending Yourself Against Apple AirTag Stalking
5. The Bottom Line
6. References

When AirTags Become Tools for Stalkers and Killers

Sports Illustrated model Brooks Nader hit the headlines in 2022 when she shared her story with 1.5 million Instagram followers of how someone slipped an AirTag into her pocket and tracked her for more than five hours.

At the time, an Apple spokesperson told The New York Post: “We take customer safety very seriously and are committed to AirTag’s privacy and security.

“AirTag is designed with a set of proactive features to discourage unwanted tracking — a first in the industry — and the Find My network includes a smart, tunable system with deterrents that applies to AirTag, as well as third-party products as part of the Find My network accessory program.”

An investigation in the UK found that AirTags were becoming popular with stalkers and abusers with GPS tracker staking cases increasing from 52 reported cases in 2018 to 217 in 2023 — a rise of 317%.

One case in Indianapolis led to manslaughter when Gaylyn Morris, 27, used an Apple AirTag to track her boyfriend Andre Smith, 26, to a bar in June, 2022.

After an ‘altercation’ with another woman, Morris ran her partner over with her car, causing his death and leading to an 18-year prison sentence.

In an ongoing case, Armoni Henry is alleged to have fatally shot Jailene Flores, 21, a woman he had dated, after confronting her about removing an AirTag he had allegedly planted in her car.

Just days before, it is alleged, Flores had discovered the tracking device.

Despite seeking protection orders earlier, the violence culminated when Henry allegedly confronted Flores at her workplace, sending her over 100 threatening texts before entering the store and taking her life in an employees-only area.

How Criminals Are Using AirTags to Track and Steal Cars

John Nelson’s excitement of picking up his new car quickly became a nightmare in the US. Two days after buying it, Nelson was notified that an unknown Apple AirTag was tracking his location when visiting his friend after a shopping trip.

Using the notification, Nelson activated the AirTag’s sound and discovered it hidden under his car, tucked into a drain cap by an unknown person, revealing a chilling attempt to track his vehicle.

Cases like this have led law enforcement agencies to put out warnings about criminals who can track a car and steal it at their leisure at a later time:

VEHICLE THEFT WARNING AND PREVENTION TIPS
Investigators with the York Regional Police Auto/Cargo Theft Unit are advising residents they have identified a new method being used by thieves to track and steal high-end vehicles across York Region.https://t.co/CTtNAEsEQT pic.twitter.com/yOOqVqnuKO

— York Regional Police (@YRP) December 2, 2021

Defending Yourself Against Apple AirTag Stalking

AirTags can be discreetly placed in your clothing or attached to your vehicle by stalkers. So be vigilant if you receive an alert on your smartphone warning you that an AirTag device is traveling with you.

If you are an Apple user, open up the ‘Find My’ app, and it should reveal the exact locations when the device was close to you.

If shown, note the owner’s details and serial number, and check if it continues to follow you. If something feels off, the Find My app will allow you to stop further location sharing immediately.

The Bottom Line

The problem with big tech’s moving fast and breaking things approach to innovation is that it seldom stops to think of the unintended consequences of its creation.

Apple’s AirTag is a textbook example of how an innovative way of solving a first-world problem can become weaponized for stalking purposes, and it should not take a class-action lawsuit to stop harm being caused.

The good news is that Apple is finally introducing extra privacy and security features, in particular, a tamper-proof in-built speaker that will help stop bad actors from tracking users without their consent.

We don’t want to be too harsh on Apple — 99% of the time, AirTags are used for good purposes and a hugely helpful tool for the mainstream.

But we hope that Apple doesn’t stop with hardware improvements in AirTag 2 and that new software updates combined with a partnership with Google will finally confine AirTag stalking to the history books.