Two women are suing Apple, who claim their previous romantic partners used the company’s AirTag devices to track their location, potentially compromising their safety.
The proposed class-action lawsuit was filed in federal court in San Francisco on Monday on behalf of one woman from Texas and another from New York. They are seeking unspecified monetary damages.
One of the women said her ex-boyfriend allegedly placed an AirTag — a small tracking device about the size of a quarter and designed to locate lost items — in her car’s tire well. The device is believed to have been painted on with a marker and tied in a plastic bag to disguise it.
Another woman named in the Jane Doe lawsuit said her ex-husband, who had been stalking her and challenging her whereabouts, placed an AirTag in her child’s backpack, the suit says. Although she tried to turn it off, another soon appeared in its place, according to the complaint.
“Ms. Doe continues to fear for her safety — at a minimum, her stalker has confirmed his commitment to continue using AirTags to track, harass and threaten her, and continues to use AirTags to locate Plaintiff,” the lawsuit states. “(She) seeks to file this lawsuit anonymously due to the real risk that identification would expose her to an increased risk of harassment and/or physical harm.”
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.
In 2021, Apple released the AirTag, a $29 tile-like Bluetooth locator that attaches to items like keys, wallets, laptops or even cars and helps users locate them by giving almost anything a digital footprint, allowing you to find it on a map . But soon after the launch, some experts warned that the devices could be used to track people without their consent.
This isn’t the first time AirTags have allegedly been used for unwanted tracking. In June, an Indiana woman allegedly used one to track down and ultimately kill her boyfriend over an alleged affair, according to reports. They were also allegedly used to steal cars.
Earlier this year, Apple added more protections to AirTag to reduce unwanted tracking. In a blog post, Apple said it’s working with security groups and law enforcement to find more ways to update its AirTag security alerts, including warning people earlier and louder if it suspects the little Bluetooth tracker is following someone.
“We’ve become aware that people may receive unwanted tracking alerts for good reasons, such as borrowing someone’s keys with an AirTag attached to them or traveling in a car with a family member’s AirPods left inside,” the company said in a statement at the time. “We have also seen reports of attackers attempting to use AirTag for malicious or criminal purposes.”
“We strongly condemn any malicious use of our products,” the company said.
But the new lawsuit claims those safeguards did little to protect victims. “Although Apple has built security measures into the AirTag product, they are woefully inadequate and do little to promptly alert people when they are being tracked,” it said.
It added that the women wanted to file a lawsuit on behalf of those “who were and are at risk of being victimized by this dangerous product.”
The-CNN-Wire
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