It’s been a little over a year since Apple released its coin-shaped item tracker, AirTag. Since then, we’ve seen loads of stories featuring the good, the bad, and the ugly of these trackers. In the latest story, AirTag wasn’t only used to track down a stolen item but also a thief.
Police used Find My to track AirTag
Just recently, police in North Carolina have used the tracking technology of AirTag to track down a serial thief. According to WRAL, a thief in Charlotte stole a backpack with an AirTag attached. As the theft was reported, investigators used Find My to track down the backpack and catch the thief.
Police found the location of the backpack at a home where the thief was. When they attempted an arrest, the thief drove away and had the backpack still with him. Eventually, the investigators were able to find track down the thief.
Turns out the thief has been arrested multiple times and has a history of stealing firearms among other crimes.
Apple’s updates to AirTag
Apple has made recent changes to hopefully make AirTag safer for users. For instance, when setting up a new AirTag, there’s a privacy warning pop-up that says the device is meant to track belongings, not humans. Additionally, the pop-up mentions law enforcement is allowed to request information tracked to the AirTag’s Apple ID. The police did track down the stolen item; however, this case seems to reach a gray area as the AirTag tracked both a stolen item and a human. While this was used by police, Apple may need help from lawmakers to better understand the rights and wrongs of AirTag.
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