When you are notified that an AirTag is following you, perhaps your phone should automatically report this fact to an authority, such as to an Apple database, which law enforcement could later access via warrant or data request. This way when an AirTag user’s power tool or motorcycle is stolen, the thief might get a notification and remove the tracker, but his phone ID would already be recorded in that database. This would help law enforcement track down a good percentage of thefts; only those very savvy criminals who invest in burner phones would avoid being identified.
And with the above system in place, legit AirTag users would have no problem leaving the speaker enabled.
Some might yell ‘big brother’ about my suggestion, but hey, aren’t we already there with using electronic devices to track our possessions and track down the criminals who steal them. This is just a logical step along that path.
When you are notified that an AirTag is following you, perhaps your phone should automatically report this fact to an authority, such as to an Apple database, which law enforcement could later access via warrant or data request. This way when an AirTag user’s power tool or motorcycle is stolen, the thief might get a notification and remove the tracker, but his phone ID would already be recorded in that database. This would help law enforcement track down a good percentage of thefts; only those very savvy criminals who invest in burner phones would avoid being identified.
And with the above system in place, legit AirTag users would have no problem leaving the speaker enabled.
Some might yell ‘big brother’ about my suggestion, but hey, aren’t we already there with using electronic devices to track our possessions and track down the criminals who steal them. This is just a logical step along that path.
There are already enough accidental calls to 9-1-1 from Apple devices, do we really law enforcement contacted every time a family member or friend legally uses an automobile or other device that has an AirTag on it?
When you are notified that an AirTag is following you, perhaps your phone should automatically report this fact to an authority, such as to an Apple database, which law enforcement could later access via warrant or data request. This way when an AirTag user’s power tool or motorcycle is stolen, the thief might get a notification and remove the tracker, but his phone ID would already be recorded in that database. This would help law enforcement track down a good percentage of thefts; only those very savvy criminals who invest in burner phones would avoid being identified.
And with the above system in place, legit AirTag users would have no problem leaving the speaker enabled.
Some might yell ‘big brother’ about my suggestion, but hey, aren’t we already there with using electronic devices to track our possessions and track down the criminals who steal them. This is just a logical step along that path.
There are already enough accidental calls to 9-1-1 from Apple devices, do we really law enforcement contacted every time a family member or friend legally uses an automobile or other device that has an AirTag on it?
Why would you contact law enforcement if you loaned your motorcycle to your friend? I think you’ve not understood my idea.
Your friend Joe borrows your bike. A while later the AirTag notifies his phone that it’s following him. And at the same time, my idea would be that his iPhone would record that ping into an Apple database. So now there’s an entry in an Apple database somewhere that indicates that Joe’s phone was followed by your AirTag. You never contact law enforcement about Joe borrowing your motorcycle, so after a few days or weeks the database erases that entry. No harm done.
Now let’s take another scenario. Bob, a thief, steals your motorcycle. A while later Bob’s iPhone gets a notification that an AirTag is following him, and at the same time Bob’s iPhone would record that ping into Apple’s database. Bob, like Joe, is not aware of this recording of a connection between the AirTag and his iPhone. But later, you report your motorcycle stolen. You give law enforcement details about your AirTag and then, in context of a reported crime, law enforcement sends a data request to Apple. Apple sends back details of the iPhone owner whose iPhone was followed by your AirTag.
So even if Bob the thief found and removed your AirTag, there’s that record of when it first pinged his iPhone. And now Bob has some explaining to do to local law enforcement. Law enforcement basically gets a really great lead to follow up.
If you never report your bike stolen, because maybe you sold it to Bob but forgot to remove your AirTag, the database entry about the tag notifying Bob that it’s following him just gets erased after some amount of time. Just like the scenario with your friend Joe.
When you are notified that an AirTag is following you, perhaps your phone should automatically report this fact to an authority, such as to an Apple database, which law enforcement could later access via warrant or data request. This way when an AirTag user’s power tool or motorcycle is stolen, the thief might get a notification and remove the tracker, but his phone ID would already be recorded in that database. This would help law enforcement track down a good percentage of thefts; only those very savvy criminals who invest in burner phones would avoid being identified.
And with the above system in place, legit AirTag users would have no problem leaving the speaker enabled.
Some might yell ‘big brother’ about my suggestion, but hey, aren’t we already there with using electronic devices to track our possessions and track down the criminals who steal them. This is just a logical step along that path.
There are already enough accidental calls to 9-1-1 from Apple devices, do we really law enforcement contacted every time a family member or friend legally uses an automobile or other device that has an AirTag on it?
It wouldn’t be law enforcement. It would just be logged in a database in case later it’s discovered that an item was stolen. Only then, when there’s evidence of a crime would law enforcement be contacted and then law enforcement would have a path to checking any and all phones that detected the tag had been following them. One of those phones is likely the thief’s phone.
I see. That would be interesting if Apple could get that working. Big Brother aside, I wonder if this inherently violates any of Apple's personal privacy goals. At the very least they could make this something an AirTag user could opt into.
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.
Totally agree! We should be able to turn off the speaker through they iPhone setup!!! You already get a notification if being stalked so this absolutely shouldn’t be an issue. I want to attach one to my bike and motorcycle in case they are stolen. If someone wants to stalk you, they are going to find a way.
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If you never report your bike stolen, because maybe you sold it to Bob but forgot to remove your AirTag, the database entry about the tag notifying Bob that it’s following him just gets erased after some amount of time. Just like the scenario with your friend Joe.