US Police has recorded 50 cases of AirTag being used to track and harass women. AirTag is a coin-sized device that has a speaker, Bluetooth antenna and battery, and can communicate its location to the user. It was designed to help find missing items.

However, according to the poll, over the past 8 months, several major U.S. police stations have collected 150 reports mentioning AirTag. In 50 cases, police were called by women who began receiving reports that they were being tracked by AirTags that did not belong to them.

Half of the women were able to identify the persecutor – it was a former partner, husband or boss. In many cases, it was ex or current sexual partners who used AirTag for tracking and harassment. Some women were also threatened or subjected to other wrongdoing. Only one case involved a man – he suspected that his girlfriend was spying on him with the help of AirTag.

Less than half of the 150 reports mentioning AirTag also involved theft and robbery. For example, the device was attached to a bicycle or car, which were then stolen.

People who don’t use the iPhone were the most vulnerable to tracking. AirTag has a notification feature. They are received by iPhone owners if the device travels with them. However, people without Apple gadgets find it harder to learn about a third-party device.

AirTag is not the only device that allows you to track your location. However, they have become very convenient for attackers due to their small size, low price and popularity in the market.

In response to tracking cases, Apple published an article about the latest security updates for AirTag. Also the company created nstructions for those who discovered tracking and developed an Android app that helps find trackers nearby.