We have not been on the market for a month with AirTags and the criticism is shared equally with the praise. Apart from the fact that it is a totally new device by Apple and that the first versions always tend to bring bugs or other problems, the criticism comes mainly from the possible use of these gadgets as elements to harass other people. Anti-harassment measures implemented by Apple they don't seem to be enough.
AirTags appear to be being tested for functions other than intended
We were already telling you not long ago that the idea of putting these devices to tracking people or children was not a good idea. It may make some sense if at some point due to carelessness our pet gets lost or our child becomes disoriented and we end up not being able to locate them. But it is even worse to use it with the idea of being able to monitor someone, follow them or see where they are going. It is true that in order to do that, you have to put the AirTag in lost mode and also that it would emit a sound ... etc. It is not easy nor is it made for that purpose. However some people are considering it and before that it is questioned if the measures implanted by Apple against the harassment, are sufficient.
Recientemente the Washington Post has released an article in which it is said that the measures adopted by the company are not enough. Let's see what they are based on to affirm such an assertion.
Geoffrey Fowler of The Washington Post, in a report investigating how AirTags can be used for covert harassment, claims that Apple has not done its job well. Anyone could use one of these devices to be able to follow someone.
Let's see how the experiment and the conclusions on anti-bullying measures went
Fowler put on an AirTag about himself and teamed up with a colleague to be harassed. He concluded that AirTags are a "cheap and effective new means of harassment."
Apple's measures include privacy alerts to let iPhone users know that an unknown AirTag is traveling with them and may be in their belongings, along with regular sound alerts when an AirTag has been separated from its owner for three days. Fowler said that during more than a week of tracking, he received alerts from both the hidden AirTag and his iPhone. After three days, the AirTag that was used to stalk Fowler played a sound, but it was "only 15 seconds of light sound", reaching about 60 DB. Then he was silent for several hours. It rang again for another 15 seconds. A sound that is easy to cover if a little pressure is applied to the top of the AirTag.
The three day countdown timer it reboots after it comes into contact with the owner's iPhone, so if the person being harassed lives with their stalker, the sound may never be activated. Fowler also received regular alerts about an unknown AirTag moving with him from his iPhone, but noted that those alerts are not available to Android users. He also mentioned that Apple doesn't provide enough help locating a nearby AirTag as it can only be tracked by sound, a feature that often didn't work.
Apple's response has not been long in coming
Kaiann Drance, Apple's vice president of marketing for iPhone, told The Washington Post that the measures built into AirTags are a “set of industry-leading and proactive deterrents ». He explained that the anti-harassment measures of AirTags can be strengthened with time and new versions. «It is an intelligent system. We can continue to improve the logic and timing so that we can improve the security package. '
Apple chose a three-day timeline before an AirTag starts playing a sound because the company «I wanted to find a balance between security and user annoyance ”. Drance declined to say whether Apple had consulted domestic harassment experts when creating the AirTags, but said Apple is "open to hearing any feedback from those organizations."
