Raven Lemon from Houston was out for dinner with a friend earlier this fall when several alerts popped up on her phone.
Now the woman claims to have been tracked, and possibly stalked, by a pair of unidentified Airpods.
Writes Fox Los Angeles.
I have a bad feeling in my stomach
Lemon checked the notifications she received on her phone. She had received several messages about unknown AirPods that were detected nearby.
Alert: One of these messages appeared on the Huston woman’s phone alerting her of the unknown entity traveling with her. Photo: Apple
For Fox L.A., the woman said she initially thought the alert was just coming from someone who passed by her.
The woman says that she nevertheless felt bad in her stomach and did not want to go home right away.
So Lemon and his friend took a detour and traveled through a park hoping to “ditch” their AirPods.
But more new alerts just popped up as she drove around the park.
Then the American noticed that the unknown owner of the AirPods followed her last movements for a full 17 minutes.
I contacted Apple
The woman told Fox that she didn’t like someone following her every step, and the next day she wanted to check what had happened.
Lemon first looked in her car to see if she had found an AirPod, but she didn’t. After a few Google searches, I contacted Apple for answers.
According to the employee from Apple, this isn’t the first time someone has tested tracking via AirPods or AirTag.
AirTag is a so-called “key finder” that is used to track personal items.
Women were told that AirPods are often hidden in the front grille of cars, in crevices, or under a fuel cap.
AIRTAG: This is called an airtag that can keep track of personal items such as wallets, keys, and bags. Photo: Carlos Jaramillo
According to an Apple employee, she was lucky that the AirPods, not the AirTag, tracked her. AirPods run out of power over time, while AirTag’s battery life can be up to a year.
Notifications about unknown devices
on me Apple website It became clear that many people had been exposed to similar trace cases as the Houston woman.
On the site, Apple writes the following:
“If an airtag, airpod, or other My Network accessory, which has been separated from its owner, finds it with you over time, you will be notified in one of two ways. These features were created specifically to discourage people from trying to track you without your knowledge.”
If you get a notification about an unrecognized AirPod or AirTag, you can see on a map where the unknown device has connected to you, and where it has traveled with you.
– Not usually
Technology expert Hans-Petter Nygård-Hansen says AirTag has many positive uses, but some people can also choose to abuse the technology.
No one has ever heard of being tracked by AirTags or AirPods in Norway.
Unusual: Hans-Petter Nygård-Hansen says there have been no cases in Norway where someone has been tracked using airpods or airtags. Photo: Christopher Sandvin
– In Norway, where the percentage of iPhone and iPad users is very large, there is also a good chance that AirTags that you don’t own, but are close to, will trigger an alert on the “Where are you?” If he “stays with you for a long time,” says Nygaard Hansen.
The tech expert is still not surprised that some have tried to be tracked using tech aids in the US, such as AirTags, AirPods, map services on Snapchat and posts on Instagram.
Nygård-Hansen emphasizes that this is still uncommon.
He has used AirTags himself when traveling in and out, and is very satisfied with the functionality it has:
– Then I can easily see if the suitcase made it to the plane, he says.
He also says that help is also good for finding, for example, pets, keys or a PC bag. Then you can be notified when you are not near your things before you travel away.
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