Cases And Accessories

The investigation discovered that AirTags’ anti-stalking measures are usually not strong sufficient

When Apple launched the AirTag a few weeks ago, the company revealed anti-stalking measures that can help unsuspecting individuals know if an AirTag has been planted on them, i.e. stealthily put in their pocket or stuck on their vehicle. In a study by the Washington Post journalist, however, Apple’s anti-stalking measures are simply not enough. Fowler listed several shortcomings, especially if you’re someone who doesn’t use an iPhone.

Initially, Fowler notes that the alarm on the AirTag that was set on him (knowingly as part of the test) didn’t go off until three days after it was out of range of the iPhone that belonged to the owner of the object tracker. If you happen to have an iPhone, you will see an “AirTag Found Moving With You” notification on your phone, but it is not available to Android phone users. This means that Android phone users will be tracked for up to three days without even realizing it.

Another glaring loophole is that a malicious party can easily stop the AirTag’s anti-stalking alert from going off. You see, an AirTag will only start chirping if it has been out of range of the owner’s iPhone for three days. A stalker can reset this countdown simply by checking the range before that 72 hour window expires in order to continue tracking the victim without alerting them. And if the victim lives nearby, the AirTag’s anti-stalking alarm may never go off.

“What makes AirTags particularly effective at tracking is that they can connect to hundreds of millions of Apple products to share their location with their owners. Think of it this way: AirTags work wherever an iPhone is nearby, ”writes Fowler. He also noted that it is relatively easy for a stalker to track your movement patterns as the AirTag continuously updates its location by piggybacking the Bluetooth signal from a nearby iPhone with an internet connection, which means the victim’s residence as well as outdoor movements. can easily be logged with the Find My Companion app.

Additionally, the report mentions that the alarm is just a slight chirp that lasts for 15 seconds. This means that if you are in a noisy place, you may not notice it for a while. “In addition, the report mentions that the alarm is just a slight chirp that lasts for 15 seconds. This means you may not even notice it in a noisy place for a while, ”adds Fowler. Additionally, the chirp alarm seems to be muffled fairly easily, especially when the white plastic cover on top (which is part of the acoustic hardware) is pressed. So if it’s tight in a tight space or is heavily attached to your vehicle, the warning message designed to let users know that they are being followed by an unknown AirTag will be hard to hear.


Nadeem Sarwar

I’ve been writing about consumer technology for over three years, having worked with names like NDTV and Beebom in the past. Leaving the latest news aside, I’ve checked out my fair share of devices that range from smartphones and laptops to smart home devices. I’ve also interviewed tech managers and appeared as a presenter on YouTube videos talking about the latest and greatest gadgets.

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