Apple Sued By Two Women Over AirTag Stalking

Apple has been hit with a lawsuit from two women who claim that their former partners used AirTags to track them. The case has been filed in a San Francisco federal court. The women allege that the AirTags were used to locate them, and that the devices have been linked to the murders of women in Akron, Ohio, and Indianapolis this year.

The women, who come from Texas and New York, are seeking unspecified monetary damages according to a BBC report. One of the women claimed that her ex-boyfriend placed an AirTag in the wheel well of her car, whereas the other alleged that her ex-husband had placed an AirTag in her child's backpack. Apple, preempting such cases, had previously given assurances that its nifty tracking devices are equipped with several measures to prevent unwanted tracking.

Lawsuit Filed on Behalf Women at Stalking Risk

The lawsuit, however, maintains that these measures are inadequate and do little to warn individuals if they are being tracked. It also states that the women want to file the lawsuit on behalf of those "who have been and who are at risk of stalking via this dangerous product."

Apple's tracking devices use a Bluetooth signal that can be detected by Apple's Find My Network, and make a beeping noise when separated from an owner for a period of time. The company says that if an AirTag is found moving with a person it is not registered with, a message should appear on their phone alerting them to it.

Despite these safeguards, the several women across the globe had found unwanted AirTags tracking them. Apple has not yet commented on the allegations or the lawsuit. Eva Galperin, Director of Cyber Security at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, previously told the BBC that "if you create an item which is useful for tracking stolen items, then you have also created a perfect tool for stalking".

Apple AirTags Are Favoured By Criminals

"We've become aware that individuals can receive unwanted tracking alerts for benign reasons, such as when borrowing someone's keys with an AirTag attached, or when traveling in a car with a family member's AirPods left inside," Apple revealed in a recent statement. "We also have seen reports of bad actors attempting to misuse AirTag for malicious or criminal purposes."

This isn't the first time that AirTags have been used for unwanted tracking. In June, a woman in Indiana was accused of using one to track and murder her boyfriend over an alleged affair. More damningly, AirTags have also been found to be instrumental in instances of car theft. In response, Apple added extra safeguards to AirTags earlier this year, including alerting people sooner and louder if the tracker is suspected of being used to track someone.