Two women sue Apple for selling ‘weapon of choice for stalkers and abusers’

Posted on : December 7, 2022
Two women sue Apple for selling ‘weapon of choice for stalkers and abusers’

Ever since Apple first launched its lost property trackers, AirTags, there have been accusations that stalkers use them to keep tabs on victims.

Now, Apple could have to face those claims in court, as two women have sued the tech giant claiming it has been unable to protect people from the tracking devices.

The coin-sized AirTag is designed to be attached to keys, rucksacks, and other items so they can be easily found by their owners when lost.

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While Apple has previously called AirTags 'stalker-proof', the women pursuing Apple claim the gadgets are "the weapon of choice of stalkers and abusers" and have been linked to the deaths of women in several US locations.

The class action lawsuit is seeking compensation for American owners of iOS and Android devices who have been unwittingly tracked by an AirTag or placed at risk of stalking.

One of the plaintiffs, Lauren Hughes, said her ex-boyfriend discovered where she lived after she moved away to avoid him by hiding an AirTag in her car. The man later posted a photo of a taco truck in her new area on social media with a wink emoji and the hashtag '#airt2.0'.

Another claimant, who is anonymous, said her former partner tracked her by hiding an AirTag in their child's bag.

Apple has not yet responded to a request for comment on the lawsuit, and is yet to offer a public statement.

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There have been several other high-profile cases of 'stalking' or unwanted tracking with AirTags this year.

In May, an American family said they were 'terrified' after discovering they were being tracked by an AirTag at Disney World.

Apple has made significant moves to improve the safety of AirTags. They released an iPhone update which will automatically notify users if an unknown AirTag has been in close proximity to them for some time.

Google also released a similar fix for Android smartphones in March of this year.

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