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more_beans_mrtaggart t1_j9zlxym wrote

You can find an AirTag with any phone.

271

the_varky t1_ja032o9 wrote

Yes, but per the linked article: "It's true, though, that AirTags can take at least hours before a user gets a tracking alert on their iPhones."

Another source: "Currently, users will receive an alert at a random period between eight and 24 hours once an unknown AirTag has been detected traveling with them." [https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/10/22927374/apple-airtag-safety-update-stalking]

​

I suppose you could say you should always be scanning for an AirTag on you at all times with any phone, and yes I guess that would solve that problem.

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more_beans_mrtaggart t1_ja0a1k4 wrote

> Yes, but per the linked article: “It’s true, though, that AirTags can take at least hours before a user gets a tracking alert on their iPhones.”

That’s not my experience. I get pinged within seconds when my daughter is nearby with her handbag AirTag.

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scsibusfault t1_ja0ap57 wrote

Alert is not the same as tracking alert, I believe.

From what I've read, they implemented a "an unfamiliar airtag appears to have been near you for an unusual amount of time" alert. Because the most likely cause of that is someone planted a tag near you.

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more_beans_mrtaggart t1_ja0b2nb wrote

It’s not the same, you can’t track it on a map, but if there’s a tag consistently within 3m of you, you know you’re being tracked.

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scsibusfault t1_ja0dh10 wrote

... right. I think the point is, it's faster to notify you of a known tag nearby.

It would obviously take longer to compile the data of whether or not a tag has been near you for a while, to indicate possible tracking.

Just pointing out that your original comment about it not being your experience (that it takes hours) could easily be explained by the fact that it's notifying you of a tag you commonly interact with.

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iHiTuDiE t1_ja0khf7 wrote

My brother placed an air tag in his sons backpack. When I pick up my nephew from school, I would get the notification hours later. It was a very strange notification the first couple of times, til I looked closer at the notification, saw the route and made the connection.

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TypicalJeepDriver t1_ja0xzqf wrote

Oddly enough my moms AirTag notifies me when she’s riding in the car with me for 10-15 minutes to the grocery store. Between 8-24 hours is not even close to the amount of time before it notifies you in my experience.

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nostpatch t1_ja1wols wrote

You might want to tell this app. Seems it missed the memo that it isn't supposed to have the capability yet.

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SoraUsagi t1_ja1za8j wrote

Iirc with an Android phone, you have to be activly looking for one. I'm not going to get in my car and open an app every time to sweep for tags like some sort of.. spy.... You know what I'll be right back.

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more_beans_mrtaggart t1_ja279qe wrote

Exactly the same for OPs device.

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SoraUsagi t1_ja310ih wrote

Absolutely. Both are less than useful. While I'm not worried about it, it would be nice to have a standalone, always on device that always sweeps. Or maybe something you could plug into the. Car that does a sweep every time you start the car.

0

SociableSociopath t1_ja3hmkn wrote

If you’re paranoid enough to want a device that sweeps your car for tracking objects you’re most likely fine opening an app a few times a day

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StinkyTurd89 t1_ja234c7 wrote

Can you? I thought it only notified iphones.

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MySonHas2BrokenArms t1_ja27b6n wrote

It takes a app that from what others are saying requires you to actively search or at a minimum open it to run in the background.

Airguard is on such app

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Xylus1985 t1_ja2ka4z wrote

Does it drains your battery more quickly? Actively searching sounds like it will take a lot of power to do constantly.

0

ItsColorNotColour t1_ja5koht wrote

Your mind is going to blow when you find out what your phone actively does 24/7

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SociableSociopath t1_ja3heej wrote

No as in literally you can download any number of apps that can do this because they just call out all BTLE devices in your proximity and general device info

1

DFLOYD70 t1_ja0nura wrote

There’s a big issue in the moving industry, because customers are putting them in their shipments to track them across the country. Some drivers are against it, and some are ok with it. I imagine that soon it will be come standard that people should know where their stuff is. I mean you can track a piece of mail or a box, why not all of your worldly possessions?

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Battlesteg_Five t1_ja1c1sd wrote

What’s the issue though?

So, people can now track their stuff while it’s being shipped. But what problems does that lead to?

The only thing I can think of would be, people harassing their moving companies and getting angry because they don’t understand the route, which would be annoying, but doesn’t seem serious.

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Acidflare1 t1_ja2epr9 wrote

Some moving companies are malicious and will hold your shit hostage while telling you that you owe them money or they lost it. Tracking might help you cut through their bullshit.

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Myotherside t1_ja2qnzd wrote

So much this. There is no rational reason for them to have an issue unless it blunts their predatory business model

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FeloniousFunk t1_ja319ie wrote

There are a ton of shady movers in the industry trying to make a buck by cutting down overhead. They’ll move your stuff into a storage unit until they can combine it with other clients’ stuff into a larger (semi) truck headed in the same direction.

This level of coordination requires quite a network to work smoothly which most don’t have, hence the excessive delays and demands for more money. Possibly the worst part is that they’re staffed by the absolute cheapest day-laborers available who probably don’t care about treating your property with respect.

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jimmyco2008 t1_ja1q0kh wrote

Your phone constantly getting alerts because there are 5 AirTags on your truck in various packages

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kamekaze1024 t1_ja1vmfj wrote

That really doesn’t seem like an issue. It’s a mild inconvenience to one worker that benefits and reassures countless other people of the whereabouts of their belongings

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elPocket t1_ja70yd4 wrote

So what you're saying is, its fine for a worker to be surveilled and harassed by customers?

Where do you work? How would you react if customers surveilled your every move and harrassed you because you took a leak or got a coffee instead of dedicating your every second to their task?

Yes, there are shitty moving companies. But oh my god, are there shitty customers!

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2beatenup t1_ja1wco4 wrote

Tin foil is cheap

−31

MySonHas2BrokenArms t1_ja26o2a wrote

You gonna wrap the whole truck or just your own iPhone?

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AnonPenguins t1_ja3r7k0 wrote

You'll ping someone in traffic, so the entire vehicle is necessary.

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elPocket t1_ja713xg wrote

Just EMP the whole freight compartment. Might zap a PS5 or a TV, but hey, thats what insurance is for.

1

anengineerandacat t1_ja2zbd1 wrote

Very mild argument that one could ship something valuable and have the boys rob the shipper and the one who shipped can get their product back and claim on the shipping insurance.

Personally though I feel the pros outweigh the cons and folks just really get upset because it shows incompetence in actually shipping something.

Folks have been throwing these into luggages and finding out their shit is stuck in a hallway somewhere nearby rather than where the airliner thinks it is.

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kidno t1_ja5mi0r wrote

> Very mild argument

I know you said "very mild" but there's easier ways to commit insurance fraud, and you really only get to do it ONCE, which makes this an impractical concern.

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wtf--dude t1_ja2afo4 wrote

There is also the matter of privacy/safety of the workers.

Edit: yes downvote me all you want. But would you like it if anyone could just track you all day? There are pros and cons to be weighted here. But this is for sure a con.

−13

FixTheGrammar t1_ja3abu4 wrote

> would you like it if anyone could just track you all day?

If I’m on the clock and working for these people? Um, yes? And the workers aren’t being tracked. The personal possessions in their care are.

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wtf--dude t1_ja3hbu4 wrote

Working for these people is quite the stretch. You will be tracked a whole day because a small part of your day is about their cargo.

I guess I am glad we have better privacy laws in EU.

−6

FixTheGrammar t1_ja3yc3d wrote

They’re only “being tracked” if they’re in possession of their customers’ personal belongings. Their stuff is being tracked, not the workers themselves. You get that, right?

3

wtf--dude t1_ja6trby wrote

They are both being tracked, you get that right?

0

Suekru t1_ja5b82k wrote

You aren’t being tracked, the luggage/package is. You just happen to be near it.

They don’t know anything about you so I would hardly say you are being tracked.

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FldNtrlst t1_ja40zbf wrote

Only a small part? So are they only transporting someone's cargo for just a portion of the day?

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analbumcover69420 t1_ja2buts wrote

They’ve saved so many piece of luggage now too; it’s amazing. Love seeing TSA with egg on their face. Laziest pieces of shit ever.

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RikerAlpha5 t1_ja3ucne wrote

What does TSA have to do with luggage? Once it’s cleared it’s the airlines problem.

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ca_kingmaker t1_ja5h7en wrote

Lol I think you don’t know who handles your luggage.

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BedrockFarmer t1_ja0fd71 wrote

As usual, no one read the article. This is just some shitty kickstarter scam. The product doesn’t exist.

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Miss_Speller t1_ja0i3sj wrote

It can't possibly be a scam - the company has ties to law enforcement!

>As with any Kickstarter, product shipment is not guaranteed, and there is little if any recourse if the project goes bad. However, given that the company has ties to law enforcement, they are likely motivated to ship the product, and not defraud backers.

/s

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therealmoogieman t1_ja2g4od wrote

I mean, look at the visual. It's a kindergarten quality designed sticker on plastic, something?

2

nicuramar t1_ja2oyby wrote

Yeah, you gotta love the “is a device” in the headline. No it’s not.

1

Bodatheyoda t1_ja092p8 wrote

Airlines are gonna by buying these and scanning every piece of luggage and taking them out so people cant find their lost luggage.

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hedoeswhathewants t1_ja184xh wrote

I wouldn't put it past them, but that sounds like theft

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Bodatheyoda t1_ja1bq20 wrote

some airlines have banned them. So if they find them in your luggage I'm pretty sure they will be allowed to.

−26

farcastershimmer t1_ja1ef0v wrote

>some airlines have banned them

Which airlines have banned airtags?

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Bodatheyoda t1_ja1ye2d wrote

On more searching it seems they actually abandoned the ban but airlines obviously want to

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[deleted] t1_ja1tsgp wrote

[removed]

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Kwintty7 t1_ja2gcpr wrote

I don't think it's good business practice, or legal, for airlines to steal items from passengers luggage, then return the luggage. It's difficult to claim that all airtags were "lost" from inside cases.

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Bodatheyoda t1_ja3cvsv wrote

So there's been a huge issue lately with airlines "losing" people's luggage. People who have had air tags in them find them at random people's homes, then those same bags later end up in a warehouse, then another warehouse, all the while the airlines being basically uncooperative, even when confronted with the information from airtags. I'm not saying airlines are stealing luggage, but it's just really, really weird.

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Suekru t1_ja5btm8 wrote

Yeah, but if they intentionally removed your AirTag that would put guilt on them. An AirTag still is a belonging to the person and removing it would be considered stealing on top of the obviously malicious intent they have by removing it.

1

DirectStreamDVR t1_ja0xvbs wrote

A good way to prevent this would be to Keep your airtag on your person , put them in your luggage after tsa and then check your bags at the gate. This will likely bypass the point where they would remove them.

Make sure you call ahead though and make sure your airline offers gate checkage.

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[deleted] t1_ja1r96p wrote

[deleted]

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orrocos t1_ja22rvr wrote

Gate checking. It’s not always available, but some flight ask you to do it if the flight is very full. I just did it yesterday.

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russian_hacker_1917 t1_j9zrceo wrote

it's wild how these tracking devices only started getting attention when it started alerting you about them. Then not alerting you is much worse

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BedrockFarmer t1_ja06l0w wrote

If you have ever taken mass transit or a long flight, you don’t want hundreds of notifications of devices following you. Context matters.

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russian_hacker_1917 t1_ja09ntb wrote

Would you rather get phone notifications or have someone stalking you?

−1

prob_wont_respond t1_ja2a8in wrote

Context matters.

If I am near one for 45 minutes on a train I don't care.

If I'm near one starting on a train and finishing at home I care.

Obviously competent development factors that context in.

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Old_Magician_6563 t1_ja0qvfo wrote

It’s weird how things don’t get attention when people don’t know about them.

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ispeakdatruf t1_ja04uuu wrote

Apple has an Android app for detecting airtags nearby.

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morbnowhere t1_ja116ko wrote

Can't you just rename an airtag to something like "Sony TWS" and it will look like some Bluetooth headphones?

2

jimmyco2008 t1_ja1qcwg wrote

Bluetooth devices have IDs like MAC Addresses. It would be feasible to spoof say a laptop to look like AirTags but changing the MAC address of a little thing like an AirTag would be incredibly difficult

0

[deleted] t1_ja14raj wrote

[deleted]

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turbo_nudist t1_ja1emr6 wrote

iphones can’t detect samsung galaxy tags, but nobody seems to give a shit about that

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0235 t1_ja2ekpk wrote

As much as I hate apple (and I mean hate apple) and prefer android (though I don't love it), airtags are not the problem. It's pretty much every other device trying to do a similar thing.

1

CptUnderpants- t1_ja1k37g wrote

AirGuard on Android works pretty well. It will alert you after an airtag, tile, or other known types of tracker has travelled with you for a little while. That way you don't get false alarms.

And you can tell it to manually scan.

12

PhunnyS7uff t1_ja096rc wrote

What about when a thief steals something? Wouldn’t this defeat the purpose of hiding an airtag on that item if they can find it right away?

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jmnugent t1_ja0ejt2 wrote

This can be done already. This device is completely unnecessary.

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turbo_nudist t1_ja1es0s wrote

it takes ~8 hours for a notification to appear if the thief has an iphone.

solved this by just having TWO airtags in my vehicles. i’ve recovered both my motorcycle and my jeep from theft with the help of airtags/airpods

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SMEGMA_SALADS t1_ja1q7gf wrote

Dude where do you live that you have multiple vehicles stolen

1

turbo_nudist t1_ja1qcmz wrote

seattle haha, it’s a shitshow.

put an airtag in the seat of my motorcycle, and it got stolen a few months later, chased the guy around riding it for a while and got it back the same morning.

same thing with my car, but with a set of airpods that now have an airtag built in to them. cops got it back about an hour after it was stolen

3

bitcoins t1_ja1vxk4 wrote

How’d the motorcycle guy like your baseball bat?

2

turbo_nudist t1_ja1w0j6 wrote

man, i WISH.

by the time i caught up to him, he had gotten off the bike and was running. i just got back on the bike and rode it home

3

crash893b t1_ja1os17 wrote

Why is the screen photoshopped

2

The_Razielim t1_ja28y5u wrote

It's basically just concept art at this point lmao I doubt they have a physical item yet, or at least not in the commercial form yet

2

h3xkey t1_ja1yaps wrote

$499 with at least 25% price increase for an BT scanner? Ripoff.

2

Automatic_Praline_70 t1_j9zt6ed wrote

Any time an airtag is following you, you get a notice on your phone and you can make that airtag play a sound.

1

tabascodinosaur t1_j9zzd1o wrote

I don't have an Apple device, that isn't a universal solution.

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sucobe t1_ja09nf8 wrote

There’s an app for android phones.

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tabascodinosaur t1_ja0f7qs wrote

But I shouldn't be forced to install this app and keep it running just because some company I don't do business with designed a product in a way that puts the public at risk.

−5

Likely_Satire t1_ja0h0s5 wrote

If you don't think you should have to download a free app, I don't think you'll be inclined to purchase this device either.
Also; tracking people like this isn't new technology. There are many other brands out there like Tile with less safety precautions which would be better for stalking.
I get people are getting stalked regardless; but it has to be at a WAYYY less rate than more covert trackers.

2

tabascodinosaur t1_ja0xkrj wrote

Just because the app is free doesn't mean I should be forced to use it to protect myself.

I'm not purchasing the device, I'm concerned about people tracking folks without their consent.

Tile doesn't phone home via devices with no intervention of the users. Tile is opt-in to send data. My phone won't taddle on me to the Tile servers without my consent. Apple isn't allowing users to choose whether their phone is participating in the tracking network or not.

Other trackers aren't nearly as disposable, available, or covert. A device with a GPS antenna and a modem will run out of battery in a few days. An Airtag can last months.

−6

Likely_Satire t1_ja19e9q wrote

A quick google search found me a list of comparable luggage trackers (https://www.travelandleisure.com/best-luggage-trackers-and-smart-tags-6826825).
If you scroll down on that link, the 'LandAirSea 54 GPS Tracker' seems to fit the exact description I'm going for.
It's small/black, has a high power magnet built in (makes it easy to stick under cars), 4G LTE SIM card capabilities (allows for data to be transmitted once every 3 seconds), and has a battery that can last 1 week - 6 months in low power mode... All for $30 which is the same cost as an Apple Airtag.
Your point is that you shouldn't have to defend yourself because apple made an easily exploitable tag... Which is valid; but my point is very much true that stalkers who care about getting away with tracking you probably wouldn't use a tracker that alerts people It's there if you have a certain phone or get an app. They'll use one like I described or one more capable/expensive and track you with that. This technology isn't as new as you think it is 🤷‍♂️

6

dclxvi616 t1_ja2911d wrote

> Apple isn't allowing users to choose whether their phone is participating in the tracking network or not.

Eh? Disable "offline finding" in 'Find My' settings and your iOS, iPadOS, or macOS device won't participate in the tracking network.

2

AgnosticStopSign t1_ja07txq wrote

Get one or be left out

−9

tabascodinosaur t1_ja0fcqw wrote

So the Apple business model is to force people who don't already have their products to buy them or be at risk of stalking by Apple's own products?

−2

AgnosticStopSign t1_ja0iecx wrote

Apple cant police people. The tags are intended to track personal items. If someone you are/were being intimate with sees you as such, thats very much a you-and-them problem.

2

tabascodinosaur t1_ja0x42k wrote

They're enabling it with their tech and the design of the distributed tracking system, where other people's devices can be used to track others without the consent of the parties involved.

You don't need to be intimate, people are having their cars tagged to be stolen later, for instance, by having a airtag thrown into the wheel well. People are being stalked by exes, and their own devices are sending their location back without any way to disable it. This is a bad design.

4

AgnosticStopSign t1_ja0z5bh wrote

You keep blaming criminal use for the reason it shouldnt exist as it does.

Following your logic, luxury cars from lets say, bugatti, should be banned because people can abuse their high speed as getaway vehicles, even though theyre intended to be investment vehicles

1

GORDON1014 t1_j9zun3n wrote

Does this apply to all phones or just Apple devices

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mavrc t1_j9zzs0t wrote

No. Apple devices only. If you're on Android, you have to install an app in advance, at minimum - haven't tried it myself.

3

doggy_wags t1_ja051o1 wrote

Does the app let you track them like on iPhone or does it just warn you if you are being followed?

−1

blu-juice t1_j9zzd5v wrote

I believe android has an app you can download. Other companies are working on it as well

1

Spam_ads_nonrelavent t1_j9zvyvl wrote

Can you make a modified air tag without speaker to play a sound? No

−7

prob_wont_respond t1_ja2akzy wrote

Well you could dab some hot glue on the speaker I bet

1

Spam_ads_nonrelavent t1_ja2anml wrote

It was a sarcasm....

If someone going to use air tag to track you they can easily remove all he speaker.

1

TheKingOfDub t1_ja22fxz wrote

This could be made with an ESP32 in about 10 minutes

1

Interesting_Reach_29 t1_ja3u0sk wrote

Every phone maker should have this. I’m disgusted that only iPhones can sense them. This all women need for stalker problems….

1

random125184 t1_ja4cyiv wrote

Can it find a tile with anti-theft feature enabled, or a similar device?

1

Forged_Originals t1_ja5e41u wrote

I love the market of technology to fight other technology that is arising.

1

Professional-One-442 t1_ja6tr92 wrote

I think this taps into a fear that is larger then the actual threat. I use them on bikes and luggage I’ll probably find some more uses.

1

iwasneverhere0301 t1_ja0k2s2 wrote

But what if it’s not hidden? How does it know the difference between a hidden tag and a not hidden tag?

−1

Vracity t1_j9zkbex wrote

This is effective

−4

KarmaPharmacy t1_j9zsgw7 wrote

Every single law enforcement agency should purchase multiple of these.

−11

parker1019 t1_ja00r86 wrote

Lol… how long till apple steals this and seals as there own.

−18