“In April of this year, one month after my car was stolen, Apple released the $29 AirTag, bringing an even more effective Bluetooth tracking technology to a much wider audience. Similar products from Samsung and smaller brands such as Chipolo are testing the limits of how far people will go to get back their stolen property and what they consider justice.”
“‘The technology has unintended consequences. It basically gives the owner the ability to become a mini surveillance operation,’ said Andrew Guthrie Ferguson, a law professor at the American University Washington College of Law.”
“‘Everybody’s had something like this stolen from them and wished they had gotten it back, had some agency in that scenario, had something they could do,’ said Dan Guido, a technology CEO in Brooklyn who got his electric scooter back using AirTags. ‘It feels empowering and feels accessible, that’s what’s attractive about it.”’
“Immediately after their release, privacy experts raised concerns about AirTags being used for stalking. The company soon tweaked its anti-stalking features, making AirTags somewhat less useful for theft. The disk-shaped tag will now let out a beeping noise in less than a day if separated from its owner, and if a person has an iOS device, a push alert will let them know someone else’s AirTag is with them. If a person uses an Android device, however, they won’t get any kind of alert. Unhappy that it might give a heads-up to potential thieves, some AirTag owners are trying to muffle the speaker or are sharing tips on how to remove it completely.”
“‘There are some people savvy enough to retrieve their property, but we don’t recommend that at all,’ said Officer Robert Rueca, spokesman for the San Francisco Police Department. ‘You don’t know what people are willing to do.”’