Jon Fortt on AirTags: 'Apple should shut this down'

From "Should Apple Ditch AirTags Because of Stalkers: On the Other Hand" which aired Thursday on CNBC:

Reports mount that stalkers and thieves are using Apple's AirTags to track people without their knowledge. Is the tech worth the trouble? I argue both sides in the latest edition of On the Other Hand, on CNBC's Squawk Box.

My take: Seems like everybody's being stalked these days.

Memo to Fortt: The plural of anecdote is not data. (Thanks to friend-of-the-blog Dave Emery for the aphorism.)

7 Comments

Mordechai Beizer said:

Seems like there could be a pretty easy fix. Implement a “cone of silence”. Squelch any airtags that don’t belong to me yet seem to be traveling alongside me within a 50 foot radius. Enable the cone when I am outside my house. Apple can simply embargo location reporting for such tags. Problem solved.

The use case I care about is finding my misplaced belongings. This shouldn’t affect that.

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January 27, 2022
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Horace Dediu said:

I maxed my allowance of 16 AirTags. I could use 40. Need to recruit family members to carry them on their accounts. Shameful.

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January 27, 2022
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- Adam Foster said:
  
  Horace, me too – Apple let me buy way to many AirTags on my one Apple ID – then I found the 16 tag limit…
  
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  January 27, 2022
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David Emery said:

If Fortt wants to shut down AirTags, is he also making the same demand for Tile? Or is this Yet Another Case of “the rules for Apple are special”?

7

January 27, 2022
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Thomas Williams said:

Seniors. Dementia. Lost car keys & we ran out of important heart meds. Oh wait, use Find My…now on our way to pharmacy, rinse & repeat. Wish I could get ‘‘em ta wear that Apple Watch…Mnemonic devices, all of them, are here to stay. Let the cops use them to find the weirdo’s tracking ex’s. Old duffers need these gadgets to get through a day. It’s not anecdotal, it’s life over 80.

Apple reported its largest single quarter in terms of revenue ever, with sales growing over 11% despite supply challenges and the lingering effects of the pandemic.

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January 27, 2022
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Rodney Avilla said:

A major FBI sting operation discovered that peeping toms use binoculars. The CEO of Nikon should be brought before a congressional committee to explain shy the company continues to aid and abet peeping toms by making binoculars.

3

January 27, 2022
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- Tom Farris said:
  
  I resemble that remark…an immediate apology to all toms shall be expected forthwith. I was wondering about that car out front all night. Thank you for the insight…
  
  :o)
  
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  January 28, 2022
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