this post was submitted on 13 Oct 2023
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So because they're cheap and work well it's apples fault (or samsung or trakr) that people are illegally using them? This type of equipment has existed for decades. Why is it suddenly a companies fault for the illegal activities a minority of users are doing with them? I really hope all these types of cases get tossed.
They’ve existed for a decade, but the tracking networks have been small, so the trackers were pretty unreliable. AirTags are accurate AF because iOS users update aggressively and Apple rolled the tracking software into the OS updates.
All in all, people only care because these things actually work well now.
No one is suing Tile because they suck ass if they’re not close to your phone.
But it is exactly because they're cheap, widely available and work well. Before AirTags, I'm not sure where you could acquire the technology you mention, but probably through some specialized channel requiring at least some tech knowledge. Also purchasing from that channel would presumably look at least a tiny bit suspect, because you were purchasing spying equipment, not something that is marketed as a way not to lose your luggage
And I get it, I have never tried AirTags but they do sound great for not losing your luggage. It's just that the illicit way to use them is so evident that it's like those "face massage" vibrators
Tile worked well enough for tracking. It wasn’t perfect but I used them before AirTags and never had a problem finding my items.
Tile is great for finding items next to your phone.
Airtags let you find items next to other people's phones.
Tile only works for tracking people if you slip the item in someone's pocket and then explicitly follow them. That's just normal stalking with an extra step.
Tile is more than capable of tracking items away from your phone. They work in about the same way AirTags do.
Edit: A word.
Except that no one has the tile app, so it doesn't work with any reliability. On the other hand, there's an iPhone almost everywhere.
Enough people have it that I’ve been able to track my wife when her phone was dead, so I wouldn’t call it useless by a long way.
Less useful, certainly. But if I was able to track my wife on an hours long trip with one, a stalker isn’t going to have any issues doing the same.
Read the fucking article?
Sounds just like the gun debate.
Idk how you got from a tool that helps track your belongings to a tool who's sole purpose is injuring and killing. Pretty far away from each other
They were replying to someone. If you read what that someone wrote, you'll have all the context you need.