Apple Sued Over AirTags Being Used By Alleged Stalkers

Two women have filed a class action lawsuit against tech giant – Apple. These 2 women, one from Texas and another in New York claim that their former lovers have been able to follow their whereabouts and perhaps endanger their safety with the aid of the company’s AirTag devices. The lawsuit was filed in a federal court in San Francisco on Monday on behalf of one woman seeking unspecified monetary damages.

One of the ladies claimed that her ex-boyfriend reportedly inserted an AirTag— Apple’s tiny monitoring device used to help find missing objects, which is about the size of a quarter — into one of the tires on her automobile. A sharpie marker was allegedly used to colour the device, while disguised in a tied plastic bag.

The other woman, identified as Jane Doe, said shared that her ex-husband, who had been harassing her about her whereabouts inserted an AirTag in her child’s backpack. Despite her efforts to disable it, the complaint narrates that another one soon showed up to replace it. Jane Doe continues to fear for her safety and that of her child— as her ex-husband has established a commitment to continue to rely on AirTags to find her location in a bid to track, harass, and threaten her. The lawsuit claims that. “This lady seeks to bring this action anonymously due to the real risk that being identified would expose her to increased risk of harassment and/or physical harm.” A request for comment regarding the case was not immediately answered by Apple.

The AirTag (a Bluetooth device capable of helping users locate missing items such as keys, wallets, laptops, and even cars) was released by Apple in 2021. This device works by imprinting everything with a digital footprint that makes it possible to locate it on a map. But immediately after the devices’ release, some experts cautioned that they might be used to stalk people without their consent.

AirTags have purportedly been employed for unauthorized tracking before. According to reports, an Indiana woman is accused of using one in June to find and ultimately kill her lover as a result of an alleged infidelity. They have apparently also been applied to auto theft and the list goes on.

In order to reduce unauthorized tracking, Apple increased AirTag’s security measures earlier this year. Apple said in a blog post that it had collaborated with safety organizations and law enforcement agencies to find more ways to update the AirTag safety warnings, such as notifying people more quickly and loudly if the tiny Bluetooth tracker is suspected of tracking someone.

“We’ve become aware that individuals can receive unwanted tracking alerts for benign reasons, such as when borrowing someone’s keys with an AirTag attached, or when travelling in a car with a family member’s AirPods left inside,” the company said in a statement at the time. “We also have seen reports of bad actors attempting to misuse AirTag for malicious or criminal purposes. We condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products,” Apple says.

While Apple claims it has added security features to the AirTag, the latest complaint contends that these measures have done nothing to safeguard victims. These security features still come across as insufficient if they can’t do anything to alert users right away if they are being followed.

The class action lawsuit was intended to be filed on behalf of people who have been victims or are likely to be at risk of stalking via the AirTags.