AirTag Explained: How Apple’s Latest Technology Was Used to Track Girls While Traveling

Technology has become indispensable. Apple‘s AirTag is a great tool to find objects that we thought were lost, but, as in everything, there are those who use it to do things… somewhat questionable. The bitten apple company has gone to great lengths to protect the privacy of its users and prevent unwanted tracking. However, situations like the one of these two Australian girls, who discovered an AirTag hidden in their luggage, still occur.

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Emily Sinclair and her friend Jane, two Australian friends, were enjoying their trip on the beautiful island of Bali when they heard a strange noise coming from Jane’s bag. Concerned, they began searching for the source of the sound and were surprised to find an Apple AirTag inside the backpack.

AirTags are used to locate lost items, such as keys, wallets or purses, and work by connecting to our iPhone, where the device’s location is displayed in real time. While they can be very useful to prevent the loss of valuables, they can also be used for malicious purposes, such as tracking and harassment of others.

In this case, the young Australian women claimed they had never used an AirTag and suspected that someone had sneaked it into Jane’s bag. After dismantling the device to avoid being followed, they decided to return to Australia ahead of schedule.

Texas man uses AirTag to track down car thief, ends up killing him

The stories behind these (a priori) harmless Apple devices can be quite bizarre. Recently, a man in San Antonio (Texas) found his stolen truck thanks to an AirTag and this led to a situation that ended in disgrace.

Instead of contacting the authorities, the owner confronted the suspect and, in a violent turn of events, shot him, resulting in the death of the alleged thief. Although the AirTag did the job, the man’s decision led to a loss of life and a police investigation to clarify the facts.

Apple, for its part, has long been implementing a number of measures to prevent misuse of AirTags, such as privacy notices and sound alerts (to warn anyone of the presence of an AirTag).