It’s so frustrating to see this kind of thoughtless Apple criticism based on brand only when they so many things that are actually bad.
AirTags are better in nearly every way to the competition. They have considered design factors, like privacy, that no one else has. Yet, they are the bad guys that should never have released this product.
Apple should be releasing products like this. They offer significant improvements over their competitors because they consider more than pure profit seeking. AirTags without privacy protection is the same as everything else available, is cheaper to make and easier to design.
I like Apple pushing the bar here. Because their products are perfect, and balance different trade offs, they encourage other manufacturers to fill those gaps. This is a win that wasn’t happening when Tile was the dominant player.
https://help.apple.com/pdf/personal-safety/en_US/personal-sa...
(also a web version: https://support.apple.com/guide/personal-safety/welcome/web )
(and yes, it covers AirTags).
I never said Apple should unlock it more, I said they should discontinue it, and their executives displayed poor judgment in approving the product.
I never argued that AirTags were nerfed into uselessness, I responded to your argument that they were nerfed into becoming useless for stalking, which I don't think is true.
> Ironically, so did Tile for the last 8 years, and Samsung's own Galaxy trackers for Android, but there is no outcry about them
Plenty of people have iPads catching dust in drawers, who would never have bought Android tablets (or any tablet) if the iPad had never existed. It's the power of Apple's marketing. Anytime I argue against AirTags, I argue that availability is a game-changer, and nobody actually tried to address this argument convincingly.
- Someone at a club or rave might impulsively or drunkenly decide to remove the AirTag they use for their keyring, and slip it into someone's pocket. They might never have bought a tracker if Apple didn't have one.
- Again, the iPad-catching-dust-in-a-drawer argument. Plenty of people buy Apple products on a whim who would never have considered that product category if the Apple product didn't exist. iPads popularized tablets, Apple Watches popularized smartwatches (at least among US teens), AirPods popularized bluetooth earphones). Apple's marketing doesn't just increase sales for their products, it promotes the entire product category. People hear about iPad, are interested, and might buy an iPad or a cheaper competitor; when they would never have bought a tablet if the iPad hadn't created a "halo effect". You can argue the effect is less for AirTags, but don't tell me it's nonexistent!
- The copycat effect is strong among criminals. Ransomware attacks were almost nonexistent, and became common very rapidly, as awareness spread among criminals, as they rushed to take advantage of the opportunity before the crypto, legal, or antivirus ecosystems catch up and make it less rewarding. In 2009 around 1 in 13 stalkers used trackers of any kind; that number's surely gone up between 2009 and 2021 (AirTag release), but you really think that number won't go over the next few years, partly because of increased popular awareness of trackers?
> It is foolish to underestimate stalkers and stereotype it as just a crime of opportunity.
I said often a crime of opportunity, not always (or even mostly), and that those for whom it was a crime of opportunity, weren't sophisticated. The average bank robber might have done a good deal of research on bank security systems and circumvention. The average stalker might not think of using GPS tracking unless he's reminded of their existence, since there are so many other methods (likely, most stalking is online nowadays). Hence my "availability" argument.
It is foolish to underestimate stalkers and stereotype it as just a crime of opportunity.
> "problem is that AirTags still, to this day, present a major Android stalking risk"
Ironically, so did Tile for the last 8 years, and Samsung's own Galaxy trackers for Android, but there is no outcry about them. Also, considering how long Tile has been on the market, this doesn't seem like a new issue. Also, Apple has built-in "Find My Friends" in iPhone. A stalker could just flip that on without telling the person being stalked (assuming he/she is close to him/her), and the phone would be tracking them, no tag necessary. Yet nobody ever hears about this being abused much.
> "AirTags have been nerfed into uselessness because of anti-stalking protection"
Hey, if I lose my wallet in my own home, it's great. If I can't find my wallet at the gas station, I can figure out where in the car it fell. There are plenty of ways it is still plenty useful. Also, if you are complaining about uselessness, maybe Apple should roll-back some anti-stalking protections but you'd be against that too.
This leaves you in the impossible position of wanting Apple to restrict it more (reduce stalking) and simultaneously unlock it more (to improve utility), all while competitors don't bother with stalking prevention at all.