Sale of 'Silent AirTags' on eBay and Etsy Raises Privacy ConcernsApple AirTag tracking devices with deactivated speakers have been spotted on eBay and Etsy, raising privacy concerns about the risks of removing one of the AirTag's safeguards,
PCMag reports.
The modified
AirTags, dubbed "Silent ‌AirTags‌," have had their internal speaker removed so that they are no longer able to emit a sound to highlight their presence. The Silent AirTag looks identical to a normal AirTag, other than a small hole cut below the device's battery to disconnect the speaker.
The Etsy merchant behind one of the product listings, which offered the Silent AirTag for $77.50, recently took the item off sale and told
PCMag:
The intent of this modification was to cater to the several requests of buyers interested in my other AirTag product who were interested in fitting an AirTag to their bikes, pets and power tools. These requests led me to listing it as a product on Etsy, albeit without a great deal of traction. The vast majority of sales shown on my Etsy profile are from sales on my modified slim AirTag, designed to unobtrusively fit inside a purse or wallet.
An eBay seller behind a similar listing said that the purpose of the Silent AirTag was to ensure that "it doesn't keep beeping when away from you," such as "if left in car or bike or with a family member." The Silent AirTag purportedly also "reduces the chance of a thief being notified of its hidden location." At the current time, an ‌AirTags‌ begins emitting a sound between eight and 24 hours after being separated from their owner to flag its location.
While the motives behind the Silent AirTag appear to be innocent, their sale has alarmed some privacy advocates online. Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation,
tweeted about her concern for the "secondary market for modified ‌AirTags‌ with the speaker disabled for 'stealth mode'," and noted:
Any item that works for the purpose of catching a thief in this manner is also a perfect tool for stalking. That is why Apple advertises them as tools for tracking lost items and not stolen ones.
‌AirTags‌ have been
increasingly linked to criminal activity in recent months, including
vehicle thefts and stalking cases. While ‌AirTags‌ automatically alert
iPhone users, as well as Android users
with the Tracker Detect app installed, when an unknown tracker is traveling with them via a notification, the speaker is the AirTag's only anti-stalking mitigation that works automatically and does not depend on the tracked person having a phone.
In addition to releasing the Tracker Detect app for Android, Apple has also
shared a Personal Safety User Guide, added the ability to
scan for nearby trackers, and updated the AirTag's firmware with
shorter intervals between emitted sounds. Despite these measures, the AirTag's anti-stalking safeguards have been
criticized for being insufficient.
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Sale of 'Silent AirTags' on eBay and Etsy Raises Privacy Concerns" first appeared on
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Sale of 'Silent AirTags' on eBay and Etsy Raises Privacy Concerns
