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Thieves must love the changes

There are two reasons for an airtag...find things that are lost and find things that are stolen. Since the tags automatically chime if they are separated from their owner and iPhone users are notified if an airtag is "following" them, thieves will be notified they are present and be able to discard them. I understand the reason for the change but it defeats one of the primary purposes of the product.

Posted on Aug 21, 2023 7:59 AM

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Posted on Aug 21, 2023 8:22 AM

What change? This has been the way AirTags work since they were released. They make a sound when away form their paired device, and the cause a notification on Apple devices when they are detected to be actively moving with them.


Unless your "thieves" have other Apple devices they won't get a notification, and even if they do, they still need to find the AirTag to discard it.

What to do if you get an alert that an AirTag, Find My network accessory, or set of AirPods is with you - Apple Support


Using the Airtags as a theft deterrent or tracking mechanism for people (thieves) is not a suported use by Apple. Don't expect them to work the way you think they should, when used for sometihng Apple did not plan, suggest nor support using them for.

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 21, 2023 8:22 AM in response to ESanderA

What change? This has been the way AirTags work since they were released. They make a sound when away form their paired device, and the cause a notification on Apple devices when they are detected to be actively moving with them.


Unless your "thieves" have other Apple devices they won't get a notification, and even if they do, they still need to find the AirTag to discard it.

What to do if you get an alert that an AirTag, Find My network accessory, or set of AirPods is with you - Apple Support


Using the Airtags as a theft deterrent or tracking mechanism for people (thieves) is not a suported use by Apple. Don't expect them to work the way you think they should, when used for sometihng Apple did not plan, suggest nor support using them for.

Aug 21, 2023 8:15 AM in response to ESanderA

I notice that Apple very carefully avoids saying that any of its products are designed with anti-theft in mind. Yes, they do say on some they may help in recovering a device if it is stolen or lost but that is not that same thing. Anti-theft may be incidental because of the recovery features but Apple does not claim they are designed with theft prevention in mind.

Thieves must love the changes

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