AirTags with disabled anti-stalking speakers briefly surface on eBay, Etsy

AppleInsider

Apple AirTag trackers that have had their speakers disabled are starting to surface on marketplaces like eBay, though their sellers insist they're not meant for stalking.

AirTags

AirTags are designed to beep when separated from their paired iPhone, but some sellers are apparently selling trackers with disconnected speakers. Products with listing names like "Silent AirTag" briefly went up for sale on Etsy and eBay, according to PCMag.

One listing on Etsy was for a "Silent AirTag" with a price tag of $77.50. That listing has since been removed, and the seller has since issued a statement to PCMag.

"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," the seller wrote. "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."

Another listing that surfaced on eBay before being pulled down claimed that the disconnected speaker "reduces chance of a thief being notified of its hidden location."

The modified hardware alarmed some privacy and security professionals, including Eva Galperin, cybersecurity director at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.

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

Although there are reports of AirTags being used to deter theft, the Apple tracking devices have also reportedly been used for stalking.

A Sports Illustrated model, for example, was stalked with an AirTag for hours in New York City back in January. On Wednesday, a report indicated that a Connecticut man was charged with stalking after police witnessed her attempting to place an AirTag on a car.

Unlike other trackers on the market, AirTags have anti-stalking mechanisms like the aforementioned beeping and automatic notifications if an unwanted AirTag is following a user. Apple has also published a personal safety guide with instructions on staying safe while using AirTags and other products.

Read on AppleInsider

Xed

LOL The least effective feature of AirTags is its weak speaker.

lkrupp

Assholes will always find a way.

MplsP

"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,"

Yeah, exactly why would anyone looking to put an AirTag on a power tool be interested in disabling the speaker? This is just like people selling radar detectors and insisting they're not being used for speeding.

mac_dog

Maybe Apple should build in a failsafe that renders the AirTag useless if tampered with. There is absolutely no reason why one should disable the speaker. 

phaseangle

Friends who have bought square devices find speakers often disable by themselves soon enough

stompy

MplsP said:

"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,"

Yeah, exactly why would anyone looking to put an AirTag on a power tool be interested in disabling the speaker? This is just like people selling radar detectors and insisting they're not being used for speeding.

Anyone who considers using an AirTag to potentially track stolen items has probably thought about disabling the speaker. It's also exceedingly common for thieves to steal  power tools (i.e. from builders). 

I'm not taking a stance about this seller/modder's actual motives, and yes, I get that Apple's AirTag marketing is to specifically to find items you misplaced.

sflocal

MplsP said:

"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,"

Yeah, exactly why would anyone looking to put an AirTag on a power tool be interested in disabling the speaker? This is just like people selling radar detectors and insisting they're not being used for speeding.

My hearing is very bad.  I couldn't hear the beeping of my AirTags if my life depended on it.  So the speakers working or not is irrelevant for me.

I have a few very expensive items, including what I place in my luggage when I travel.  If someone robs my house and steals my stuff, I do see the appeal in not notifying the robber that my belongings he stole is being tracked.  It would certainly be easier for me to call the police and assist in arresting the ignorant thief.

That being said, that same perceived convenience would be valuable to stalkers.  Like everything else, it's the small percentage of people that ruin it for everyone else.  So the only thing I could hope for is that the robber's hearing is as bad as mine and won't hear the beeping.

spock1234

Thankfully, I am not attractive enough for anyone to stalk me. Finally, a win for ugly folks!! 

mikethemartian

mac_dog said:

Maybe Apple should build in a failsafe that renders the AirTag useless if tampered with. There is absolutely no reason why one should disable the speaker. 

The Lotus in “For Your Eyes Only” had a pretty effective anti-tampering feature.

Xed

mac_dog said:

Maybe Apple should build in a failsafe that renders the AirTag useless if tampered with. There is absolutely no reason why one should disable the speaker. 

This means Apple spends money on R&D just make AirTags purposely break themselves much more easily than otherwise possible. This would help criminals, not deter them.

oadbylad

Xed said:

mac_dog said:

Maybe Apple should build in a failsafe that renders the AirTag useless if tampered with. There is absolutely no reason why one should disable the speaker. 

This means Apple spends money on R&D just make AirTags purposely break themselves much more easily than otherwise possible. This would help criminals, not deter them.

I have an AirTag on my motorbike, which is parked indoors in the entrance to my building. It give me an enormous sense of security knowing if the bike moves, I will be notified and can track its location. But, if I am away a couple of days the tag starts making noise, which my neighbors found annoying. So I wrapped it in high density foam that made it very hard to hear. There are many valid reasons to not want the speaker working.

oadbylad

The vast majority of people using AirTags are doing so for legitimate purposes. Law enforcement should be delighted when criminals/stalkers use Apple products as they are much more likely to be caught due to the tracking safeguards but in. There are many other tag trackers out there without these safeguards that are not getting the attention Apples AirTags are. It is ridiculous this blame game on Apple, when no other manufacturer comes close to their safeguards.

Xed

oadbylad said:

Xed said:

mac_dog said:

Maybe Apple should build in a failsafe that renders the AirTag useless if tampered with. There is absolutely no reason why one should disable the speaker. 

This means Apple spends money on R&D just make AirTags purposely break themselves much more easily than otherwise possible. This would help criminals, not deter them.

I have an AirTag on my motorbike, which is parked indoors in the entrance to my building. It give me an enormous sense of security knowing if the bike moves, I will be notified and can track its location. But, if I am away a couple of days the tag starts making noise, which my neighbors found annoying. So I wrapped it in high density foam that made it very hard to hear. There are many valid reasons to not want the speaker working.

I agree, which is why I'm not in favor of mac_dog's suggestion that Apple make AirTags break themselves if someone like you wishes to disable its speaker.

maestro64

Xed said:

LOL The least effective feature of AirTags is its weak speaker.

Have to agree, if there is any background noise you can not hear it. Even if you can hear it it's hard to tell where the sounds is coming from unless you're right on top of it.

Xed

maestro64 said:

Xed said:

LOL The least effective feature of AirTags is its weak speaker.

Have to agree, if there is any background noise you can not hear it. Even if you can hear it it's hard to tell where the sounds is coming from unless you're right on top of it.

Tile and others have a diode(?) on the board that causes a high pitch sound. Those are more effective for announcing your position, but limited in the sounds they can make.

digitol

Disabling the speaker won't stop the airtag from alerting the mark that there is a foreign tag following them. Right? Am i missing something here? If not, meh, much ado about nothing. 

dewme

Apple tried to achieve a reasonable balance between intentional features and capabilities versus misuse and misapplication. If they made the AirTags self destruct if tampered with they wouldn’t have replaceable batteries or maintain their tiny form factor. The audible beeping and anti stalking features are intended to mitigate misuse, but they cannot totally eliminate misuse without reducing features and taking away functionality. 

badmonk

MplsP said:

"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,"

Yeah, exactly why would anyone looking to put an AirTag on a power tool be interested in disabling the speaker? This is just like people selling radar detectors and insisting they're not being used for speeding.

As someone who has had power tools stolen from my garage and recently saw people in pawnshops with clear substance abuse disorder trying to sell tools they probably don’t own, I feel differently about it.

It’s the real world, garages often don’t have the same security as a home and for laborers in this country tools are a currency and they see value in them as something they can turn around for cash with relative ease.

There is a real need to use AirTags as anti-theft devices and though stalking is a real problem, there has to be some balance.  Right now I have AirTags on our luggage, both of our cars, my tool chest and gas grill.  The last two are for anti-theft reasons only.

[email protected]

MplsP said:

"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,"

Yeah, exactly why would anyone looking to put an AirTag on a power tool be interested in disabling the speaker? This is just like people selling radar detectors and insisting they're not being used for speeding.

I bought about 20 of these things and removed the speakers. Put them in all my power tool cases. I had a 12K pedicab stollen from my shop in Dec, if they come back for my rather expensive battery powered tools, I'll ready.

I also have them all my camera cases, computer bags, Jeep, etc.

I *should* have bought Tile, though. I can remove the speakers in the AirTags but the thief will still get notified that he's being tracked if he takes my stuff to his house, minimizing my chance and recovering my stolen property.

mikethemartian

spock1234 said:

Thankfully, I am not attractive enough for anyone to stalk me. Finally, a win for ugly folks!! 

I would truly feel sorry for someone desperate enough to want to stalk me.