A group of women have filed a class action lawsuit against Apple after their exs used the company‘s controversial AirTags to stalk them.
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One of the ladies claimed in the lawsuit that her ex-boyfriend followed her after he hid the AirTag in the steering wheel of her vehicle. After her iPhone alerted her that the AirTag was within her range, she claimed she felt compelled to remain at a hotel in order to avoid any communication from her ex. The tracker was colored with a marker when the woman eventually discovered it within her car’s wheel. She also noticed a stranger prowling about the area.
Another woman said that her ex-husband tracked her daily movements by using the device in her child’s bookbag. According to Gizmodo, their lawsuit claimed that Apple breachuit ed California’s constitutional right to privacy by negligently using the AirTag to bypass privacy concerns. Due to the fact that stalkers utilize it to locate their victims, the device was also classified as being “unreasonably dangerous.”
“Ms. Doe continues to fear for her safety—at minimum, her stalker has evidenced a commitment to continuing to use AirTags to track, harass, and threaten her, and continues to use AirTags to find Plaintiff’s location. [She] seeks to bring this action anonymously due to the real risk that being identified would expose her to increased risk of harassment and/or physical harm.”
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However, Apple has reportedly addressed these concerns and released numerous updates to circumvent any further issues. The lawsuit added that the company’s AirTags have increased potential for stalkers to track their victim’s whereabouts. Others have used the AirTag to track their pets, children, and family members but it still involves the grey area of privacy.
“We’ve become aware that individuals can receive unwanted tracking alerts for benign reasons, such as when borrowing someone’s keys with an AirTag attached, or when traveling in a car with a family member’s AirPods left inside. We also have seen reports of bad actors attempting to misuse AirTag for malicious or criminal purposes,” the company said in a statement earlier this year.
“We condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products.”
The women said in thei lawsuit that they filed the complaint to help those who have been stalked or at risk of being stalked due to the AirTag. In a report by NBC2, an Indiana woman used the AirTag to track her boyfriend and killed him after accusing him of having an affair. The products were also used to steal cars.
Apple launched the product in 2021 fo $29 so customers can use it to find items like laptops, phones, wallet, keys and other everyday items. It enables the item to have a digital footprint so it is easy to find on an iPhone.