If someone puts an AirTag on you to track you, you’re going to find out about it. If you have an iPhone, you’ll get an alert telling you you’re being tracked by an AirTag. If you have an Android phone, you can download Apple’s horrible app for Android, which you can check on occasion. However, there’s always a fallback: the AirTag will make noise. Eventually, it’ll chirp so you can find it, then report it to Apple and the authorities.
But what if it’s been silenced?
Now AirTags with disabled speakers are selling on eBay and Etsy. Sellers claim the tools aren’t for stalking, but it’s clear who will find these useful. While it’s true, they can help you track stolen goods longer, you likely wouldn’t have to track them very long to find where thieves took your stuff. If you’re looking to stalk someone without them ever knowing, however, a silent AirTag is perfect. And that’s why this is so worrying.
The AirTag Issue
Oh look. There is already a secondary market for modified AirTags with the speaker disabled for “stealth mode.” I hate everything so much right now. https://t.co/Y56CusJ4qP
— Eva (@evacide) February 2, 2022
AirTags were always a potential privacy concern. They’re small, easy to slip somewhere, and they can track users far better than other tracking devices on the market. The next best product might be those from Tile or with Tile tracking on the Tile Network. However, there are fewer devices with the Tile app installed to keep the Tile Network up. Meanwhile, every iOS device can act as a beacon for Apple’s Find My network.
Because Apple knew how easily the AirTag could stalk people, they built in some safeguards. If your iOS device notices an AirTag that isn’t yours following you for some time, without the owner nearby, it’ll alert you. You can search for them with an Android app as well. But perhaps the best security feature is the sound alert. This doesn’t rely on searching for AirTags in a lousy Android app or keeping Bluetooth on at all times. Instead, it’ll start making noise after 8 to 24 hours of being separated from the owner. Now people are disabling it.
Supposedly Innocent?
“The intent of this modification was to cater to the several requests of buyers interested in my other AirTag product who were interested in fitting an AirTag to their bikes, pets and power tools. These requests led me to listing it as a product on Etsy, albeit without a great deal of traction. The vast majority of sales shown on my Etsy profile are from sales on my modified slim AirTag, designed to unobtrusively fit inside a purse or wallet.”
– From the seller to PCMag
According to the modder, who also made thinner versions of the AirTags to fit in wallets, the main idea was to create a tool for tracking down stolen items. Due to stalking and safety concerns, AirTags are only for lost items, not tracking down stolen items. Not only because tracking down stolen items is dangerous, but because your AirTag doesn’t know the difference between a thief and a stalking victim. That’s why the speaker was so important. Anyone removing it would have to either really not know its purpose or intentionally make something for stalking people.
Keep Yourself Safe
Thieves and Abusers Are Using AirTags to Track Victims. It’s Easy to Protect Yourself.
I described this in a previous post, but there are plenty of ways you can protect yourself. There are the usual tactics: keep your belongings in sight and pay attention to people who get close to you. But outside of that? Keep bluetooth on with your iPhone, and download Apple’s scanning app for Android. If someone’s using a silenced AirTag, you won’t hear an alert, so be on the lookout for it through apps and careful observation. If you find one, head straight to a safe place. A populated area, a police station, anywhere where you believe a stalker would be unlikely to attack you. Police can work with Apple to catch who planted it on you, but many people sign up using false information.
What Can be Done?
Etsy and eBay seem to have already taken the first step: banning the sale of these. So far, it seems searching for “Silent AirTags” yields none of these modified devices. Still, they’ll be for sale in other parts of the internet that don’t face the same public scrutiny of Etsy or eBay.
This is a unique situation. While Tile has had tracking tags like this for some time, its network isn’t as widespread and Tile’s devices aren’t as small an inconspicuous as Apple’s AirTags. At least, they weren’t. Now you can get Tile tracking in a pair of headphones that cost as much as Apple’s AirTags and would be even more innocent-seeming. These companies need to do a better job of regulating who can track devices using their networks. They need to ensure customers sign up with real information, so if a device is used to stalk someone, police can make an arrest. As of now, it’s far too easy to start tracking your devices—and whoever you’ve placed them on—anonymously.
For now, all we can do is remain vigilant and keep the pressure on companies to improve the privacy of their tracking devices.
Sources:
- Killian Bell, Cult of Mac
- Hartley Charlton, MacRumors
- Michael Kan, PCMag
- Andrew Liszewski, Gizmodo
- Mike Peterson, AppleInsider