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this post was submitted on 05 Aug 2023
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Technology
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Apple allows them to connect to any device in the "Find My" network and phone home, regardless of who it belongs to. Presumably that includes you driving next to someone with an iPhone if the tag is in your car. It's supposed to also alert you f it's determined to be travelling with you and the owner is not nearby, but I think that requires you to also have an Apple device, or install and actively use Apple's Tracker Detect app for Android.
https://www.apple.com/airtag/#:~:text=How%20does%20it%20work
Ah, so very similar to what Amazon did with Sidewalk a few years back. I shocked people are ok with allowing this data through their devices. Sidewalk caused a massive backlash because of privacy and data rate concerns.
it's a bit different, in that they're just constantly broadcasting a singular id, over and over. The "tracking" is the application on various devices which receive the broadcast and report it to Apple, along with that device's location.
Sidewalk was packing up actual user data and running it over your network, which has other implications.