Apple AirTag

Apple’s AirTags raised a bit of a fuss when they launched early in 2021. Every review we saw said two things about the AirTags and the Find My app they use on iOS devices. One, they work great. Two, they might work too great. The problem? They seemed too easy to use to track non-consenting humans without their knowledge. Which is pretty creepy.

Fortunately, Apple listened to their users and made some quick changes to mitigate these concerns, like shortening the time it takes for an Airtag to play a sound after it is separated from its owner from three days to between 8 - 24 hours to help alert someone who might have had an Airtag slipped in their bag or car as a way to stalk them. Unfortunately, those changes still weren’t enough, so in February 2022, Apple announced even more updates to AirTags, the Find My app, and to how Apple interacts with law enforcement to help with unwanted tracking. But all that still didn't keep AirTags from popping up in very sad news stories -- involving intimate partner homicide, vigilante justice -- and from being the subject of class action lawsuit. Still, Apple is actively trying to make AirTags safer. In May 2023, they announced that they’re teaming up with Google to draft new Bluetooth tracker safety standards that would allow users to more easily detect unwanted trackers across both iOS and Android devices. And though that is a promising step, some privacy advocates say that “the product is the problem.”

As for Apple’s privacy practices, well, Apple does a pretty good job with privacy and security as a company. They have had some serious security issues, including one in 2022 that could allow hackers to take complete control of iPhones, iPads, and Macs. And another bad security vulnerability that resulted in spyware that could allow bad actors to record calls and messages and even turn the device camera and microphone on without the user knowing. The good thing with Apple and security is, they seem to take these security breaches seriously, jump and fix them immediately, and communicate pretty well with users on what they need to do to stay safe. So keep those devices updated folks! And take those security warnings seriously when you get them. This is also a good reminder that even the best companies can be vulnerable to high-level security bugs and breaches.

Apple's privacy policy says they can collect things like name, email address, age, location, device information, contact information, and more on you when you use their products and services. The good news is, Apple says they treat all this information as personal information. So, things like device ID and the like are treated as securely as your name and age. That’s good. And Apple says they don’t share or sell your data, which is also good. They do say they can share your data with some third parties such as business partners, service providers, and others as you give your permission. For the most part, this sharing looks pretty normal for the services they provide.

And when it comes to AI voice assistants, Siri is a bit more privacy conscious than others like Amazon’s Alexa. Apple says they take special care to make sure your Siri requests aren't associated with you, and those transcripts aren’t subject to human review--anymore. In 2021, Apple made another positive change for your Siri voice requests--many audio requests for things like setting timers or alarms or controlling music are no longer sent over the internet to their servers, instead they are processed directly on your device. This is better for your privacy.

So on the privacy front, yes, Apple is generally better than other Big Tech companies (cough, Meta, cough cough, Amazon, cough Samsung), when it comes to privacy. They aren’t perfect, of course, but they do seem to do a better job at collecting less data because they aren’t trying to sell as many ads as Google and Facebook (yet, at least).

Apple does say they can target you with some personalized ads on their platforms. Apple delivers ads to you on Apple News or App Store, and gives you the option to opt-out of these personalized ads using your Apple ID, which will opt you out of these ads across all Apple devices. However, keep an eye on how Apple does their ads business. Right now it’s not too worrisome to us, but that could change as they look to grow their ad revenue.

What’s the worst that could happen? Well, Apple isn’t perfect, they could do better. And Apple’s AirTags are a special kind of privacy nightmare when others abuse them. While we’re happy to see Apple take steps to prevent them from being used to stalk or spy on people without their consent, that’s still plenty of concern. There are sites on the internet that tell people how to modify or disable the speaker in the Airtag so it can’t alert someone it’s been hidden in their car or purse. A bad person using an Airtag to stalk someone without them knowing is pretty dang creepy. But, that could also happen with any of the Bluetooth trackers on the market. It’s just that Apple’s Find My network is huge, with millions of users, making AirTags potentially the scariest, and the best, tracker on the market.