APPLE AirTags are doubling as a tracking tool for stalkers, according to new social media reports.
Several reports have emerged over recent weeks of people attaching their AirTags — an Apple device meant to keep track of keys and other personal items via Bluetooth — onto unsuspecting car owners.
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The most recent report came from a 28-year-old Baltimore woman, Jeana, who discovered an Apple AirTag was attached to her car while she was with friends in a bar.
“It was 2 am and I was driving away with no cars around me and I kept getting this alert for like 30 mins straight,” she tweeted.
“I’ve gotten that alert before while I was traffic…sometimes when you’re near other [people] for a while on the road Apple thinks it’s following you, but it was late, and I started to make a bunch of right turns and run counter and I was *still* repeatedly getting this message,” she added.
A woman named Ellie Tindall in Nashville shared a similar story when she found that an Apple AirTag was attached to her car as she helped her friend move.
Tindall told local news that the experience was “extremely scary,” and added that she saw on TikTok the practice of stalking people with AirTags was “a thing criminals are doing for robbery or sex trafficking.”
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Cops told KMTV that Apple AirTags, “really do pose a danger if someone places this on/in your vehicle or personal belongings such as a backpack or purse.”
The police added that victims of domestic abuse are of particular concern.
Apple told The Sun in a statement that they have taken measures to ensure AirTags’ 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 part of the Find My network accessory program,” the tech giant said.
Apple also noted that they introduced an app called Tracker Detect this month for Android users, giving them the ability to scan for AirTags that are no longer with their owner.
How to protect yourself
There are several ways to mitigate your risk of being tracked by an AirTag, according to PCMags’s Steven Winkleman.
For starters, Winkleman recommends regularly inspecting belongings such as luggage, purses, and bags.
“Take a few minutes to empty your bag and pockets each day; check to make sure all of the seams are intact and you don’t feel any awkward lumps or hard surfaces,” he wrote.
Next, be wary of the mail, especially if you use a PO box or rent a mailbox.
Boxes or unknown envelopes can contain Bluetooth trackers, so it’s best to open all of your mail before returning home, Winkleman suggested.
Last, you will want to inspect your bike and car for trackers.
You can easily check your bike for AirTags, however, cars contain a lot more hiding spaces.
Still, Winklesman recommends checking behind license plates, the opening between the hood and windshield, in the wheel wells, and the front and rear bumpers of your car.
How to detect and disable an AirTag
If an AirTag is traveling with an unregistered person, it will chirp sometime after 8 to 24 hours.
It will also send a notification to the nearest iPhone (assuming it’s running on iOS 14.5 or later).
If you find an unknown AirTag in your belongings, you can tap your phone against it to get the serial number and information on how to disable it.
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Mum shares how she uses an Apple AirTag as a tracking device on her kids but parents are divided
In other news, Samsung is reportedly killing off its beloved Note smartphone after more than a decade.
Apple has announced that it will let customers fix their own iPhones for the first time starting next year.
The UK is fighting an epidemic of hack attacks targeting consumers and businesses, according to officials.
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