I’ve kind of been annoyed by all of the stories of AirTags being used to stalk people. Not that I don’t think it’s serious for someone it happens to. I do. But the number of stories about it might lead some to think that half the population of the U.S. is being spied on by the other half with Apple’s magic tracker. Then you hear a story like this and wonder whether it’s being covered enough.
Cult of Mac says “silent AirTags” are being sold on Etsy. Yes, your home for stickers, crafts, and the odd knickknack was home to at least one unit that operates in a perpetual “stealth mode.” That’s because the sellers disable AirTag’s speaker, then sell the silent units at a considerably higher price than usual.
I don’t want to knock Etsy. The Cult of Mac piece says such units are available on eBay as well. In fact, one seller on Etsy has had a change of heart and pulled the device from sale there. That seller 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…
While I believe there to be many positive uses for this product, there are some negatives, that I’m now aware of, that can’t be outweighed by any positive. In light of this, I have removed my listing from Etsy.
Gee, ya think? I mean - yeah, I can actually conjure a scenario or two where having a silent one of these would be beneficial to good guys. But if you know about AirTag and are savvy enough to figure out how to disable the speaker, what are the odds that you haven’t heard the stalking stories?
Good that this seller is doing the right thing now. One down. Who knows how many others to go.
