DEA Quietly Turned Apple’s AirTag into a Surveillance Tool

forbes.com

38 points·gscott··8 comments

[Apple] issued an update so iPhones would warn users when an unknown tracking device was detected, via Bluetooth, on their person.

So was this disabled for the DEA sting? Because it becomes super obvious when an unknown AirTag is travelling with you.

My kid just got back from a group trip and she carried one in her luggage. The entire bus full of kids kept complaining about the stalker alerts...for the entire week.

It’s not clear from the article what makes individual trackers a “surveillance network” and how this is unique from any other commercially available location tracker.

Probably because it utilizes Apple network and maybe iPhones are the devices mostly used by drug dealers?

Apple products communicate with each other even if they don't know each other, so an airtag will utilize the cellular of a nearby iphone in order to get information to apple's servers. I think google has a tracker that does something similar.

Its easy to imagine that previous generation tracking devices that sends its information across a broader range than an airtag will need to be larger battery thus being larger.

FYI this can be disabled

Settings > your name (at the top) > find my > find my iPhone > find my network

Disable this to opt out

$1m question: Does the DEA have a special arrangement with Apple to disable the "an AirTag is following you" feature?

With an AirTag on stolen goods where the local is known, local cops won't lift a finger to retrieve said items.

Does Tile snitch on owners to thieves that a tag is following them too?

https://archive.is/SXVAH

My son put an AirTag in his car which is being shipped across country. Fun to see where it is each day.

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