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On Jan. 21, 2022, CBS Mornings aired a news report by Inside Edition and spoke with anchor Deborah Norville about Apple AirTag devices purportedly being used by stalkers. According to the reporting, two women received notifications on their iPhone devices that said an unknown AirTag tracker that did not belong to them had been detected following their movements. Both were believed to have been attached in a hidden location on their vehicles. The notifications showed up with the words time-sensitive and said: AirTag Found Moving With You. The location of this AirTag can be seen by the owner. This might sound familiar to some of our readers from our past reporting that fact-checked claims of human trafficking and sex trafficking. Those stories often involved cars as well. Here's everything we know so far about the Apple AirTag stalking danger rumors, as well as their purported links to auto theft and other crimes. The report on CBS Mornings profiled two women who said they received AirTag notifications. We also found several other people on Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok who claimed that AirTags were used by stalkers to detect their movements. News reports detailed additional incidents in California, Colorado, Georgia, Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Ontario, Canada. We have initially uncovered zero reports that linked sexual predators, kidnappings, abductions, human trafficking, sexual assault, or any similar crimes to the use of Apple's AirTag devices. This is based on publicly available news reports and police bulletins. At the same time, it appeared that AirTags had been used in a very small number of cases for auto theft and perhaps even stalking, according to the data we've compiled later in this story. Further, we have so far seen no indication that the use of AirTags by stalkers or for other crimes was a widespread issue. At best, according to news reports and social media claims, the issue had occurred but appeared to be on a very small scale. Put simply, an AirTag is a small, lightweight, round iPhone accessory that provides a private and secure way to easily locate the items that matter most. It can be attached to a keychain, placed into a purse, or attached to any other items, all so that they can be easily found using Apple's Find My app. AirTag is designed for over a year's worth of battery life with everyday use, the company said in a news release. The CR2032 battery is user-replaceable and widely available. Replacement batteries are sold separately. Apple introduced its AirTag product for purchase on April 30, 2021. When customers buy an AirTag, they first need to set it up on an iPhone. Once it's set up, the AirTag will appear in the user's Find My app. If iPhone users need to locate an AirTag, the Find My app was created to guide them to its location, provided that it's within Bluetooth range. The app's functionality is then able to send a signal to the AirTag that tells the small device to play a beeping sound. Siri can also be asked to tell the AirTag to emit the noise. In addition to the beeping sound, the Find My app can also guide the user to walk closer to the AirTag's location. If a user loses an AirTag and it's not within Bluetooth range, other users' Apple devices can help to pinpoint its location. This process is carried out in an anonymous and private way, according to the company. Additionally, a missing AirTag can be placed by the user into what's known as Lost Mode. When this setting is applied, the user is notified when another person's iPhone or other Apple product is within range of the lost AirTag. If that person within range of the AirTag finds it, they can go through a special process to contact the AirTag's owner. As for Android users, they weren't left out in the cold. Apple created the Tracker Detect app for Android devices for any users who wished to have similar functionality to AirTags. According to Apple's initial news release for AirTags, the devices were designed from the ground up to keep location data private and secure. It also described proactive features that discourage unwanted tracking, which was related to Norville's CBS Mornings segment: Apple established a page on its support website to educate users on what to do if they find or hear an AirTag that they're unfamiliar with. In the CBS Mornings news report, two women, who were not identified, were profiled in Georgia. Each of them had received notifications on their iPhone devices that AirTags they did not own were found to be following their movements. One of the women took her car to a mechanic to help locate where the AirTag was placed. However, no one was able to find it, according to Inside Edition. In a statement to CBS Mornings, Apple said it's committed to AirTag's privacy and security. AirTag is designed with a set of proactive features to discourage unwanted tracking, Apple said. If users ever feel their safety is at risk, they are encouraged to contact local law enforcement who can work with Apple to provide any available information about the unknown AirTag. We reached out to Apple to find out more but did not receive a response. (While Norville spoke on CBS Mornings about the AirTag stalking story, the report itself was filed by Inside Edition journalist Lisa Guerrero.) We found more purported AirTag stalker incidents on social media. One of the most shared Facebook posts was published on Nov. 22, 2021. It received more than 250,000 shares: A Facebook post from Nov. 29 documented a case where a woman claimed to find an AirTag in her purse: On Dec. 11, Macomb County Scanner Live documented another purported AirTag incident: On Dec. 27, a Facebook post claimed, in detail, that a mother went to the police after her daughter received a notification that an unknown AirTag was believed to be following her movements: The post has since been deleted or made private. We attempted to contact the Crowley Police Department to ask questions about this last Facebook post but were not able to reach an officer. On Dec. 18, a Twitter thread, which has since been made private, described an incident where a woman claimed she left a bar and later found an AirTag had been placed inside the wheel well of her vehicle: On the day after the Twitter thread went up, a Reddit user posted about an unsettling notification involving an AirTag that was following the person or attached to their vehicle. We also found at least two TikTok videos that described other AirTag tracking stalker incidents. On Nov. 11, 2021, a woman tweeted that her iPhone detected an unknown AirTag in her rental car. However, she later found out that it was placed there by the owner. On Dec. 15, a news story from Fox 2 Detroit documented cases in Michigan and Texas, and five other incidents reported by York Regional Police in Ontario, Canada. In the Michigan case, a man who had recently purchased a Dodge Charger received a notification that an AirTag he didn't own was detected as following him. He eventually found the AirTag hidden in a drain cap under the trunk of his car. It was believed to have been placed there by auto thieves. On Dec. 22, WGRZ reported on two purported AirTag incidents, both involving women in West Seneca, New York. Police officers found one of the devices under one of the women's car bumpers. The other AirTag could not be found and was disconnected. It's unclear if the second woman was simply alerted to a lost AirTag and had mistaken it for the other notification about potentially being followed. Later, on Dec. 6, 2022, Reuters published a story that said, Apple Inc has been sued by two women who said its AirTag devices have made it easier for their former partners and other stalkers to track down victims. We will update this story should we receive a response from Apple or if we find any information to update or correct the details in this fact check.
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