AirTags and Privacy

Apple's new tracking devices raise some serious questions.

A Quick Plug

Episode 70: Apple AirTags and Privacy

Katherine Druckman, Doc Searls, and Petros Koutoupis talk Apple AirTags and privacy.

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Apple recently announced AirTags, which are small tracking devices that you can attach to your belongings in order to track them via Apple’s “find my” feature. While Apple marketing puts privacy at the forefront, this new product has, predictably, raised concerns. In last week’s episode, Doc, Katherine, and Petros weighed in. We’ve shared a roundup of links below, and we hope you’ll listen in for our take.

Eva @evacide

Amazon partners with Tile in an effort to make Tiles as great for stalking as Apple's AirTags:

cnbc.comAmazon partners with Tile to take on Apple AirTagsAmazon partnered with Tile and smart lock maker Level to beef up its mesh network for tracking items.

EFF @EFF

AirTags are marketed as a great way to track your luggage or your keys. Unfortunately, they don't have nearly enough protections to stop them from tracking people—enabling abuse and more on a massive scale.

wired.comApple’s AirTags Are a Gift to StalkersThe tiny new tracking devices can be easily hidden in the cars and bags of victims. And exploiting them is dead simple.

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This Week’s Reading List

• I tracked my kid with Apple's Airtags to test its privacy features - CNN — I clipped a keychain with one of Apple's tiny new Bluetooth trackers, AirTags, onto my son's book bag and waved goodbye to him on the school bus. I watched on my iPhone's Find My app as the bus stopped at a light a few blocks down from our street.

• Apple AirTags only partly stop stalking - The Washington Post

• Hackers Are Having a Field Day With AirTags — Just two weeks after their release, several hackers and security researchers are tearing Apple’s AirTags apart and finding some issues with them.

• AirTags Can Be Used To Figure Out When a House Is Empty, Researcher Warns — A security researcher warns that a feature that displays when an AirTag was last seen could give away some sensitive information about its surroundings.

• Apple’s AirTags Are a Gift to Stalkers — The tiny new tracking devices can be easily hidden in the cars and bags of victims. And exploiting them is dead simple.

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We look forward to sharing our weekly recaps, reading lists and inspiration with you as we navigate our collective digital reality. Cheers until next time!

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