Edit: Downvoters. I am not doing this obviously. Am asking as this is the clear abuse I see. Tracking people without permission.
I see this as being a weird legal thing we hear about down the road.
I thought the system was designed in such a way that the data is meaningless to anyone but the owner of the tag, so that third-parties can't learn anything from said data.
The iOS device keeps seeing a random AirTag in close proximity. Even as the ID rotates, it's still about 2m away, and continues to be 2m away as you move. It doesn't know who it belongs to, but it's probably the same physical device, because it keeps going to wherever you're going.
That's a different scenario than the evil store owner who wants to track their customers. In that case, it's just a random procession of tags roaming about the store. A tag arriving at the store on repeated days has nothing to indicate that it's the same one.
So if it's being used as a malicious tracker (hidden in someone's car or purse), then the constant proximity is a clue. But if someone is trying to guess which tag belongs to a specific person, they can't unless they maintain constant contact with that tag over a long timeline. At that point, they can just see you :)
Meanwhile, if you're trying to use these things to track visitors to your store, you're only getting 16 bins of people. My "E" tag will be the same as 50 other people who've visited last week with the same "E" suffix.
I'm having a hard time finding the actual whitepaper on this. Hopefully someone links it in this thread.
The protocol is in Ivan Kristic’s Black Hat 2019 talk: https://i.blackhat.com/USA-19/Thursday/us-19-Krstic-Behind-T...
Finally, the static part of the broadcast doesn’t need to be permanently static. It simply needs to rotate at a period that’s longer than the rest of the public key.
> And even if users don’t have an iOS device, an AirTag separated from its owner for an extended period of time will play a sound when moved to draw attention to it.
The evolution will be smarter and stickier the more you invest in the ecosystem
> Of course, if you happen to be with a friend who has an AirTag, or on a train with a whole bunch of people with AirTag, don’t worry. These alerts are triggered only when an AirTag is separated from its owner.
Dunno.
Somehow I don't see this idea working out when law makers start seeing what kind of things this product enables.
That being said, plenty of devices are already available to cheaply track people without them knowing.
It's not for anti-theft
> AirTag is also designed with a set of proactive features that discourage unwanted tracking, an industry first. Bluetooth signal identifiers transmitted by AirTag rotate frequently to prevent unwanted location tracking. iOS devices can also detect an AirTag that isn’t with its owner, and notify the user if an unknown AirTag is seen to be traveling with them from place to place over time. And even if users don’t have an iOS device, an AirTag separated from its owner for an extended period of time will play a sound when moved to draw attention to it. If a user detects an unknown AirTag, they can tap it with their iPhone or NFC-capable device and instructions will guide them to disable the unknown AirTag.
>And even if users don’t have an iOS device, an AirTag separated from its owner for an extended period of time will play a sound when moved to draw attention to it.
Doesn't mention what version, but even with Bluetooth 5.0 the maximum range would be around 400 m/1.000 ft under ideal circumstances.
So the tracking would only work if you actively pursued the target to stay in range.
Probably much more practical to go for an actual GPS-tracker, magnetic versions of those can be bought on Amazon for like 50 bucks.
If you lose a tracked device, you can see its location if a random person’s Internet-enabled iDevice hears any of its chirps. The stranger’s device doing the relaying is unable to decrypt the contents; it just forwards the data to Apple.
Why should I spent my data cost to send beacons for someone else?
I hope it can be disabled.
I guess I could monitor my Bluetooth status more often, but the Control Center toggle (intentionally) doesn’t turn it off entirely...
If your data caps are THAT tight, you might consider a different provider.
So even non-Apple users will get alerted if they're being tracked with it.
"iOS devices can also detect an AirTag that isn’t with its owner, and notify the user if an unknown AirTag is seen to be traveling with them from place to place over time."
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=S...
and then you can rob the house -or worse- after figuring out their schedule... and it's only $30!
But this also begs the question, if I steal something with an AirTag on it, my iPhone would tell me that the item has an AirTag on it.