AirTags were first released by Apple as a harmless tracking device. During his initial day's attacks made a name for itself in the market it was a very aesthetically pleasing product it works great and it simply served its purpose.
But, with every passing day more and more negative sides of the AirTags have come into play.
From stealing luxury vehicles in Canada to tracking innocent families at Disney World the AirTags has been a center of a lot of controversies.
And today we are going to talk about one such controversy...
The News:
A US family recently stated that someone from Walt Disney World observed their movements after placing an AirTag from Apple while they strolled through the Orlando theme park.
Fox 35 reported that Jennifer Gatson discovered a coin-sized device in her bag after receiving a message stating that the user of the AirTag was following the movement of guests. The Gatson family was heading back to their car via the monorail after a trip to Disney World.
According to FOX35, Jennifer Gatson said that her family was "terrified and confused, and worried and scared".
She explained that she was worried that her child, Madison, had noticed the device monitoring them for several hours while they were strolling throughout the amusement park. The device was able to track every place the family was, up to the parking area.
The family began looking for the device. They scrambled to get everything from their bags after the tiny device disappeared. They then climbed into their vehicle, secured the door, drove off, and called the police.
As Ms. Gaston was checking it, it revealed that it was showing that the AirTag had not left our parking space, which is why, when we were desperately shaking out clothes and taking everything we had in our bags, it was snatched away, "said Ms. Gaston, as reported by Fox35.
She also said that the incident could have turned out much worse. "I'm thankful to God that we've got the result we've got and it's not because the woman (Madison) was attentive and was aware of what she needed," she said.
AirTags, made by Apple, is designed to keep an eye on items that people regularly lose, such as keys and wallets. In the past, this tiny device was discovered to be used by criminals to locate individuals.
In the face of growing security concerns, Apple has defended its purpose. Apple has said that the AirTag was created to assist people in finding the belongings that they have, but not to track anyone or property belonging to another person.
Apple has also stated that the AirTag was designed to prevent "unwarranted monitoring" by alerting nearby iPhones if an AirTag is separated from its owner.
David Benson, a security expert who spoke to Fox35, said if anyone finds themselves in the same situation, they should not go home or back to their hotel, but instead, take a trip to a nearby public area and report the incident to the police.
Moreover, Apple has also provided information on how one can safeguard oneself and receive safety alerts.
For iPhone users: If an AirTag that is not connected to the owner is observed moving along with you over time, the following alert will be shown: AirTag was discovered while you were moving.
If you're using an Android device, you could get the Tracker Detect application available on the Google Play Store, which seeks out item trackers in the Bluetooth range that aren't being used by their owners.
Winding-up
The AirTag is indeed a great device but the amount of criminal activities it is being associated with is truly horrifying.
Right now what Apple needs is to update its tracker and bring around some sort of special identification mechanism so each attack can only be used tracked and accessed by the user who has who owns the device.
