As she frantically searched the vehicle for the tracking device, a woman said she realized it had been installed in her car without her knowledge.
According to a story in Newsweek, Kayla, who only goes by the name Kayla, submitted a video to her TikTok account, @kaylamalecc, stating that she learned about the AirTag—an Apple device—after her iPhone alerted her.
She added in the video, which has over 7 million views since October 20 and can be watched here: “So, someone attached an AirTag to my vehicle. Last night, I received notification that an Air Tag was following me. So, someone installed an AirTag, a tracking device, on my automobile. So, I’m going to take a look around in my vehicle.”
She shows the notification on her phone screen, which reads: “AirTag discovered you on the move. The owner can view the position of this AirTag.”
She searches the outside of her car, visibly alarmed, stating, “One area people instructed me to look is behind my license plate.” She meticulously inspects the vehicle, checking the tires, vents, wipers, door handles, and even the trunk latch. She acknowledged that she had stopped the AirTag from transmitting her location, but she was unsure what to do with it or whether she should report it to the authorities.
“I’m afraid I’m going to puke. Like I’m sick to my stomach right now, sick to my stomach because someone installed a tracker on my car to track me.”
Apple responded to the outcry of the public by issuing a press release. “Communication with the Find My network is end-to-end encrypted so that only the owner of a device has access to its location data, and no one, including Apple, knows the identity or position of any device that helped find it,” according to an Apple press statement at the time.
The AirTag technology would deter people from utilizing it for undesired purposes, such as in Kayla’s case, according to the news release.
The press release further mentioned that “AirTag is also designed with a set of proactive measures that prohibit unwanted tracking, which is a first in the industry,” Apple stated. AirTag transmits Bluetooth signal identifiers that cycle regularly to prevent unwanted location tracking.