Apple received a class action lawsuit filed last week from people who claim its AirTag tracking devices allegedly led to “multiple murders.” The lawsuit claims stalkers or would-be killers use AirTags to track their victims by slipping them into a bag, in a car or directly on the individual. It adds that Apple hasn’t taken adequate steps to “protect people from unwanted, dangerous tracking.”
Apple claims its AirTags are built to avoid or discourage unwanted tracking via a phone alert. Its website says that if someone else’s AirTag is placed in your bag or coat, for example, your iPhone will notice and send an alert saying: “AirTag Found Moving With You. The location of this AirTag can be seen by the owner.” The company further claims if the person can’t find the AirTag, after a certain amount of time, the device will play a sound to let the individual know where it is.
However, the lawsuit argues that because the alert isn’t immediate and AirTag won’t alert you if its owner is near, it has made it ideal for stalkers to track a person’s whereabouts. While Apple reduced the amount of time it takes for a person to receive an alert, the lawsuit claims individuals have reported not receiving a notification that they were being tracked until as much as a day after the device was planted on them. It cites one industry expert who says Apple takes an estimated four to eight hours before sending the message.
An increasingly concerning aspect of AirTags, the lawsuit says, is that Android users don’t have the same protections as iPhone users, because their devices run on a different operating system, meaning they won’t receive an alert that they’re being tracked. Apple plans to roll out the tracking option for Android users, but only after striking a deal with Google to collaborate on anti-stalking measures back in May, more than two years after Apple rolled out the AirTags.
“The consequences have been as severe as possible,” the lawsuit reads. “Multiple murders have occurred in which the murderer used an AirTag to track the victim. Similarly, individuals have been murdered—or murdered others—when using AirTags to track down stolen property and confront the thieves.”
The lawsuit, initially filed last year, cites several instances in which the AirTag was used to track a victim including an instance in January 2022, when a woman in Akron, Ohio was stalked by her ex-boyfriend via an AirTag that was placed in her car. He used the AirTag to track, follow and ultimately shoot her. Another instance occurred when a woman in Indianapolis hid an AirTag in her boyfriend’s car, allowing her to follow him to a bar where he was killed after she ran him over with her car.
A report by the U.S. Department of Justice estimates 7.5 million people are stalked in the U.S. each year, with 18-24 year-olds experiencing the highest rates of stalking among adults. The lawsuit says the actual number of stalking victims is likely much higher, adding that only 40% of cases are reported to the police.
Apple has until Oct. 27 to respond to the class action lawsuit, which asks for a trial by jury and “an order enjoining Apple from further unlawful, unfair, and/or fraudulent practices with respect to the design, manufacture, and release into the market of its AirTags.”
Apple and the plaintiff’s attorneys did not immediately respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.