Since Apple’s AirTags launched last year, we’ve heard stories of how they’re being used for an unintended purpose: harassment. It’s been a particular problem for womenand now it looks like it could be even more serious than people thought.
This is according to research by Motherboard (opens in a new tab), which found reports from eight major police departments, covering an eight-month period. During that time, 150 reports mentioned AirTags, 50 of which were from women who received notifications that a rogue AirTag was following them.
Half of those 50 women suspected that a man in their life may have been responsible for planting the AirTag – with the intent of tracking and harassing them. In one case, a woman called the police because a man had escalated his harassment; the report records him as saying he placed an AirTag in his car and threatened to “make his life hell”.
Other cases involved an angry ex slashing a woman’s tires and leaving an AirTag in her car, as well as a woman who said she found AirTags attached to her car multiple times. She claimed it was her ex, who has a history of assault, since he was able to show up at places at the same time as her.
The mysterious appearance of ex-partners is a recurring story in reports, as are fears and threats that the person planting the AirTag intended to inflict physical harm. However, some reports came from women in an active relationship with the man stalking them, some of whom turned violent when confronted about it.
Of the 150 reports, only one involved a man who suspected his ex-girlfriend was stalking him with an AirTag. Less than half of the reports mention that AirTags are involved in some kind of theft.
It should be noted that these reports came from only eight police jurisdictions, out of the thousands that exist in the United States. It also doesn’t take into account other countries where AirTags are on sale. In other words, the 50 harassment reports are probably just scratching the surface.
What is Apple doing about it?
Apple has come under criticism regarding AirTags and their ability to be used for criminal purposes, particularly harassment. iOS has had a feature that automatically detects unknown AirTags since the launch of remotes in April 2021, and it’s received several updates since then, but clearly that’s not enough.
For starters, it ignores the fact that Android users exist and can be victims of AirTag harassment. Knowing that an AirTag is following you is not as useful as being able to find it. Apple launched the Tracker Detect (opens in a new tab) app to Android late last year. Unfortunately, the application does not work automatically, as it does on iPhone; the user has to actively search for nearby AirTags, which doesn’t help much if you have no idea you’re being harassed.
Apple also promised to launch a Precision Tracking feature to help victims track down unknown trackers. It should also make it clearer if someone is potentially being tracked with an AirTag.
Unfortunately, this feature isn’t expected to arrive until later this year, and Apple has only announced support for iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 13 devices, likely because it relies on ultra-wideband technology. which is not available on other devices.
Clearly, more needs to be done to prevent this kind of abuse from occurring. Google may be planning to add an OS-level tracking detector to Android soon, which will be a useful tool, but it’s not available to help people who are currently being harassed.
How can you avoid AirTag harassment?
AirTags work using Apple’s Find My network, which means every iPhone that comes within range can pick up AirTag signals and automatically transmit them to Apple. Considering the number of iPhones used at any given time, it is therefore very easy to locate an AirTag.
This is great for finding lost keys, but it also makes AirTags an effective and inexpensive weapon for stalkers. More than if the attacker was using something like a tile, which doesn’t have the same range as Apple’s network.
It helps to know how to protect yourself and how to report unknown AirTags that may be following you. We have a detailed guide on how to tell if an AirTag is tracking you, but here are the basics.
iPhone users: Anyone using an iPhone 6S or newer can report unknown AirTags, as long as they have iOS 14.5 or newer. Head to the find my app, press the Me icon at the bottom right and make sure Item Security Alerts is authorized.
Android users: There are two options for you. The first is Apple’s Tracker Detect (opens in a new tab) app, though it requires you to manually scan for errant AirTags and requires Android 9.0 or higher.
If you prefer something automatic, try AirGuard (opens in a new tab). This will periodically scan for errant AirTags and it will work on older devices up to Android 5.0. It can also detect trackers from other companies such as Tile.
All the others: If you don’t have a smartphone or your phone is too old for a dedicated tracking app, you don’t have many options. But an AirTag will start beeping if it’s separated from its paired iPhone or iPad for more than 24 hours — so listen for any unexpected sound. It’s not a foolproof solution, as the beep isn’t very loud, but it’s better than being totally unaware of its presence for long periods of time.
Found a malicious AirTag? Be sure to enter the serial number, either from the detector app or by removing the back panel of the AirTag, before disabling it.
To do this, press down on the center of the back panel and twist counter-clockwise. This opens the AirTag, allowing you to remove the battery inside. Once done, you should report the incident and the AirTag serial number to the police. Apple can then use the number to track down the owner of the AirTag.