Apple’s AirTag Harassment Alert reportedly sends false alarms with seemingly “ghost” alerts, confusing and worrying iPhone users.
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NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 29: A man checks his phone at an Apple retail store in Grand Central Terminal on January 29, 2019 in New York City. Apple is due to report first-quarter results after US markets close on Tuesday.
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Apple AirTag Harassment Alert
According to an article by The Verge, Apple has already released an anti-harassment feature for its tracking device, the famous AirTag.
This follows multiple incidents in which victims reported detecting an AirTag attached to their belongings that creepily tracks their movements.
As a result, the Cupertino tech giant has introduced anti-harassment measures AirTags, which integrate with the iPhone.
Anti-harassment alerts on the iPhone should notify users if an AirTag has been following them for an extended period of time already. The new security measure created by Apple aims to prevent stalkers from using the tracking device to track their location without their prior consent.
AirTag Harassment “Ghost” Alerts
However, this time around, according to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Apple’s anti-harassment feature for AirTags has gone off the rails. She reportedly started sending “ghost” alerts, which give false alerts to various iPhone users.
(Photo : Mark Chan via Unsplash)
Apple’s AirTag Harassment Alert allegedly sends fake alerts to users’ iPhones. Is this another annoying bug?
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What’s extremely annoying about ‘ghost’ alerts is that they happen in the middle of the night when most of us are sleeping or having a quiet time.
The false alerts reportedly showed bizarre map visuals. It should be noted that the anti-harassment notification should show the location of the AirTag owner on a digital map.
However, ghost alerts could not show a person’s specific location. Instead, they confusingly illustrated multiple straight lines on the map that actually led nowhere.
The Verge noted in its report that the AirTag alert should show a specific location. Otherwise, it appears to be a simple bug or error.
Read also: AirTag Stalking? Family claims Apple device followed them to Disney World
Victims of false AirTag alarms
Meanwhile, according to Apple Insider’s latest article, one of the iPhone users who got a “ghost” AirTag alert shared how it happened.
The anonymous victim of the false alarm told the outlet that the experience was both frightening and confusing.
He also said that the AirTag’s supposed movement across the map “seemed super weird.” As expected, the iPhone user found no AirTags after searching near his home.
Another person who received the fake AirTag harassment alert on their iPhone said they couldn’t find a tracking device in their belongings either. She added that the Find My app left a pop-up saying “AirTag Not Reachable.”
False AirTag Alarms: Why Does It Happen?
An Apple spokesperson previously said that iPhones may receive false AirTag harassment alerts when it picks up WiFi signals that may interfere with its location services.
Additionally, the Apple spokesperson added that densely populated places like Disney World could also trigger false alarms.
Related article: Latest Apple AirTag firmware update removes unwanted sound from monitoring
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