The dark side of light tracking devices like Apple AirTags

There’s a dark side of a device so light, victims don’t even know it’s there. Apple AirTags are meant to track personal belongings, but criminals quickly capitalized on far more nefarious utilities.

“Had that device not been in that car, my son would still be living today. She found my son because of the Apple AirTag,” LaPrecia Sanders told Nightline.

Sanders’ 26-year-old son Andre was killed in June 2022, after an ex-girlfriend planted an AirTag in his car, tracking him to a local bar and killing him when she found him, according to Indianapolis police.

“She went head-on and ran my son over. And she didn’t do it once. She did it three times. Ended up with a 4,000-pound car sitting on top of my son,” Sanders said.

Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Brooks Nader warned her followers about AirTag dangers after she found the tiny tracking device in her coat.

“It was the scariest, scariest moment ever,” Nader said.

In late 2022, Lauren Hughes sued Apple after she said she found an AirTag in the wheel well of her car, planted there by a stalker she was actively trying to escape.

“I was actually loading things into my vehicle at the time when I got the notification that the AirTag was moving with me,” Hughes said.

The proposed class action lawsuit claims Apple didn’t take effective measures to prevent abuse, saying, “it has become the weapon of choice for stalkers and abusers.”

Thieves are also planting AirTags and other Bluetooth tracking devices to track and steal cars.

More recently, those meant to uphold the law are now accused of illegally using these devices. The FBI is actively investigating the disbanded Los Angeles Police Department gang unit, where officers are suspected of slipping AirTags into vehicles they stopped, allowing them to track suspects without a warrant.

In September, LAPD also opened an internal investigation into Assistant Chief Al Labrada, who is accused of using an AirTag to stalk a subordinate, female officer with whom he had a prior relationship.

Apple’s response

“We’re adding to this growing ecosystem with a new iPhone accessory that makes finding things even easier,” iPhone Systems’ Engineering Program Manager Carolyn Wolfman-Estrada announced in April 2021.

Since Apple launched AirTags, people have used these quarter-sized devices to track anything they don’t want to lose, from wallets and keys to dogs and luggage.

From the beginning, Apple acknowledged malicious use could be an issue.

“AirTag is designed to track items, not people. So we included safety features to discourage unwanted tracking,” Wolfman-Estrada said.

If Apple detects an AirTag traveling with someone other than the owner, they’ll send that person an iOS alert. That’s how stalking victims found out they were being tracked.

However, Android users need a specific app for the same feature, and Apple didn’t launch Tracker Detect until nearly eight months after AirTags came out.

Nearly 10 months after the tech launched, Apple noted, “Incidents of AirTag misuse are rare; however, each instance is one too many.”

The company said it is closely working with law enforcement.

Of course, this isn’t just Apple’s problem because it’s not just AirTags. Tile, Samsung, Chipolo and Pebblebee are just a handful of other Bluetooth tracking devices.

Domestic violence victim advocates are among those pushing for universal standards to combat unwanted trackers. 

In May, Apple and Google announced that by the end of 2023, there will be a standard, industry-wide unwanted tracking alert for future iOS and Android versions.