How the Apple AirTag became a stalker’s gift

Re:How the Apple AirTag became a stalker’s gift by sigwinch28 on Monday September 05, 2022 @08:11AM (#32723384)

The AirTags form part of Apple's "Find My" network.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Find_My

tl;dr Apple devices broadcast IDs and then other Apple devices phone home with those IDs and GPS locations so the owners can find their lost devices even if they don't have internet connectivity.

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Re:How the Apple AirTag became a stalker’s gift by mojuba on Monday September 05, 2022 @08:21AM (#32723455)

Does that mean all Apple devices phone home about everything found nearby all the time?

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Re:How the Apple AirTag became a stalker’s gift by foxtrottbravo on Monday September 05, 2022 @08:50AM (#32723718)

If the user opted in to use the Find-My network, yes.

Most of users want a way to find / lock / remotely wipe their 1000$ phone in case it gets lost or stolen.

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Re:How the Apple AirTag became a stalker’s gift by MForster on Monday September 05, 2022 @09:01AM (#32723827)

Ah, so Apple is linking the feature of finding _my_ phone with reporting on lots of others? That explains why people turn it on, but I find that creepy.

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Re:How the Apple AirTag became a stalker’s gift by garblegarble on Monday September 05, 2022 @09:28AM (#32724065)

The technology is also built so that the location is encrypted for the device owner - so Apple doesn't have a database of the location of every Apple Find My enabled device in the world, which for me makes it not creepy - my devices can find my devices.

It's really useful for locating lost headphones, laptops, etc. -- whether stolen, left on public transport/taxi, or left at a friend's house.

Edit: link to Apple's description of how Find My works: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/security/sec6cbc80fd0/...

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Re:How the Apple AirTag became a stalker’s gift by MForster on Monday September 05, 2022 @09:37AM (#32724157)

Thanks for pointing out the encryption. That changes things a bit, IMHO.

Would have been nice if the article explained a bit what is actually happening. The wikipedia article doesn't mention it either...

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Re:How the Apple AirTag became a stalker’s gift by garblegarble on Monday September 05, 2022 @10:06AM (#32724438)

I've edited my comment to add a link to Apple's description of the service's approach: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/security/sec6cbc80fd0/...

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Re:How the Apple AirTag became a stalker’s gift by ipaddr on Monday September 05, 2022 @09:53AM (#32724301)

So when another phone tells apple the id and location apple doesn't have a list of ids and locations?

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Re:How the Apple AirTag became a stalker’s gift by garblegarble on Monday September 05, 2022 @10:05AM (#32724419)

>apple doesn't have a list of ids and locations?

That's right - you can read more at [1]

1: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/security/sec6cbc80fd0/...

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Re:How the Apple AirTag became a stalker’s gift by Xx25 on Monday September 05, 2022 @10:25AM (#32724652)

Is there any independent analysis of this end to end encryption of location data, that confirms that Apple can not really access the location even if they want to?

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