CHARLOTTE — A Charlotte couple is concerned after they discovered an Apple AirTag taped to their car.
James Jackson says he got an alert on his phone that said an AirTag was detected near his location. He played the sound, and it led him to the front of his car, where he found the Apple AirTag.
“It was down here under the front bumper,” Jackson told Action 9′s Jason Stoogenke.
Jackson said he had an idea who put it there, so he filed a police report.
“I feel violated. My wife’s scared. She works from home, so she’s here by herself all day,” he said.
Apple AirTags are supposed to help you find things if lose them, such as your keys or wallet. They’re convenient, small, and inexpensive, costing about $30.
Here’s how an AirTag works:
If you have an iPhone running operating system 14.5 or newer, your phone is supposed to send you a (written) notification if an AirTag is traveling with you.
You should get that alert 1) when you arrive home, 2) when you arrive at a significant location (based on your travel patterns, such as work or the gym) or 3) at night (no matter where you are).
If you have an iPhone with an older operating system or an Android, the AirTag is supposed to beep 8-24 hours after being separated from its owner.
In the past, Apple told Stoogenke, “AirTag was designed to help people locate their personal belongings, not to track people or another person’s property, and we condemn in the strongest possible terms any malicious use of our products.”
The company said it’s been working closely with various safety groups and law enforcement agencies and identified more ways to update AirTag safety warnings and help guard against further unwanted tracking.
READ APPLE’S FULL STATEMENT HERE.
Advice from Action 9:
- Make sure you don’t disable certain settings on your phone.
- Do not turn off Bluetooth.
- If you have an iPhone, but the operating system is older than 14.5, update it.
- If you have an Android, you can use the Tracker Detect app.
VIDEO: How to make sure someone isn’t using an Apple AirTag to track you
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