Apple AirTag: Police Official Accused of Stalking

CA - A high-ranking Los Angeles Police Department official has been demoted and is facing the possibility of termination after being accused of stalking a fellow officer with whom he was romantically involved...

The female officer who accused Labrada of stalking contacted Ontario police after she discovered an AirTag — a small tracking device that can be attached to personal items — among her possessions, according to two sources familiar with the case.

A group of officers from a since-disbanded San Fernando Valley gang unit is under investigation for, among other misconduct, allegedly using the devices to track suspects without court authorization...

Ontario police had been investigating the stalking allegations, but the San Bernardino County district attorney’s office said Wednesday it did not have enough evidence to pursue charges against Labrada. more

Apple Airtags - You're It

A new report today says that AirTag stalking is “frighteningly easy” thanks to a number of weaknesses in Apple’s privacy protections...

...three days is a very long time to be tracked without your knowledge if you are an Android user. Additionally, for a stranger stalker, they would be able to track you to your home address or another location you frequently visit, before you are alerted – in other words, after the damage is done...

...An AirTag starts a three-day countdown clock on its alarm as soon as it’s out of the range of the iPhone it’s paired with. Since many victims live with their abusers, the alert countdown could be reset each night when the owner of the AirTag comes back into its range...

...There’s an option in the Find My app to turn off all of these “item safety alerts” — and adjusting it doesn’t require entering your PIN or password. People in abusive situations don’t always have total control over their phones...

...The only protection for Android users is the audible alert after three days, and it’s already been shown that the speaker can be disabled... more