How to protect yourself from AirTag stalking?

Apple unveiled AirTags in April 2021 as devices that help search for easy-to-lose objects. Inside an AirTag there is a board with a wireless module, along with a replaceable battery and a speaker which is actually rather large, and that is really the bulk of the device.

AirTags are useful and, at $29 for one or $99 for a pack of four, a relatively inexpensive accessory for everyday tracking of easy-to-lose objects. The technology can help you find your hidden keys or a bag you have left behind. On several occasions, travelers have been able to locate their lost baggage faster than the airline employees could.

How does it turn into a shady business?

Right after the device went on sale, reports started cropping up about how people used it in ways that were not completely legal, and there were even reports of overt criminal activity. Here are the major examples.

• An activist from Germany uncovered the location of a top-secret state agency after mailing it an envelope containing an AirTag. A lot of people use such a tactic — which is more or less legal depending on the laws of a country — to track actual mail delivery routes, for example
• On a more serious note, in December 2021 the Canadian police investigated several incidents in which criminals used AirTags to steal cars. They stuck an AirTag on a car in a public parking lot, used it to figure out where the owner lived, and then at night stole the car while it was parked in a suburb, a little further from potential witnesses.

AirTags are a handy piece of technology that criminals can also use for malicious purposes. Apple did not invent cyberstalking, but it did come up with a convenient technology that enables people to engage in illegal stalking. That means that it is the company’s responsibility to make it harder for people to use the device for objectionable purposes.

What to do?

If you are worried about being tracked, the first thing you need to do is protect your smartphone — it is the most obvious target. You can look around for unknown AirTags. If you use an iPhone, it will notify you quickly that there’s a tag. If you have an Android and you want to protect yourself from being tracked with an AirTag, install the Apple Tracker Detect app.

Direct Publication Source: https://www.kaspersky.com/blog/how-to-protect-from-stalking-with-airtag/43705/