Apple released their newest device, Apple Air Tags in April 2021. The tags sell for $29 each on Apple’s website, or four for $99. If you are like me and had never heard of this device, let me explain: an apple air tag is a small circular device about the size of a quarter that can be attached to your keys, backpack, and most importantly Apple devices. The Air Tag serves as a way to find your lost items. An app named “Find My” on iPhones tracks how far away the tags are and displays a map with their locations. Helpful right?

Maybe not so much.

These tracking devices can lead to a dangerous threat: stalking. With any tracking device, safety can become a real problem. Mississippi woman Amber Norsworthy experienced this problem first hand. She had not purchased any Apple Air Tags but received a notification from her phone, “AirTag Found Moving With You,” “the location of this AirTag can be seen by the owner.” It had tracked a detailed route all the way to her home. This leaked her address from work location to the owner. Scared that someone could be following her, she began checking her purse, coat pockets and wallet in search of an AirTag, but she couldn’t find anything. She later found that the Air Tag had been placed in her car without her knowledge.

Apple Air Tags claim to be for “tagging items, and not people”, but they pose a real security risk. These Airtags are tracked from the second they are placed into the car until they are disabled by the owner. Apple needs to establish some sort of verification, or events similar to the one that took place to Amber will continue to take place. Without confirmation, Apple will continue to endanger users and non-users alike. Change needs to be made in the name of safety instead of another massive payday for Apple, it is predicted that over 35 million tags will be sold after a year, grossing about $1 billion in revenue.

For safety benefits, the Apple Air Tag should be discontinued.