Are we more afraid of losing our house keys than our freedoms?
The Internet and digital technologies have changed (indeed, revolutionized) our lives. In most cases, they have simplified and, therefore, improved them. Think about the possibility of being able to work without necessarily having to be in the office. Or the convenience of carrying out boring paperwork without having to physically go to the counters and face long queues.
Often, then, thanks to digital tools, we have the opportunity to remedy some human weaknesses. Who has never forgotten an appointment before electronic diaries (with related notifications) existed? Or who has never lost, at least temporarily, objects (such as keys or a bag)?
To solve this problem, the race to commercialize devices has long been unleashed that allow even the most inattentive or forgetful people to always be able to find lost things.
The tender seems to have been won by Apple which, a few months ago, put on the market the “Airtag”, very small discs (they are little more than a two-euro coin) that can be attached to bags or key rings in order to allow them to precise geolocation. Airtags – that take advantage of technology bluetooth – they can be traced precisely because they can count on the network of millions of Apple devices in the world. Any Apple device that is in the vicinity of our Airtag, in fact, can recognize it and send us the exact location.
In short, Airtag was created to defend us from inattention, carelessness and from criminals (for example, in case of theft).
Yet, as often happens, even technologies born with the best of intentions can be used for malicious purposes. Airtags are designed to track things, but they can also be easily used to spy and monitor people (since they can be very easily hidden in a bag, pocket, car). In short, Airtag – which is also an inexpensive product – can be used as stalkerware (term used to identify those technologies that can be used to spy on and control other people).
Experts and activists for digital freedoms pointed this out right away. For its part, even Apple – which has made its attention to privacy even an element of commercial communication – has been aware of these risks from the beginning and has tried to adopt some countermeasures. If an Airtag that is not ours moves with us (without its owner), an alert is displayed (for those with iPhones) or an audible alarm is activated so that we can find and deactivate it.
However, many quickly pointed out that these protections are generally inadequate, especially in the case of domestic abuse.
Following these grievances, Apple has reduced the time interval after which an abusive Airtag reports its presence. Initially this time frame was 3 days, now it has dropped to a variable interval between 8 and 24 hours.
However, this is still not enough. Even eight hours are enough to accurately reconstruct our every movement and allow us to trace our home or other places we often frequent. In short, the warning to be “followed” may still come too late.
Not to mention that it is possible to receive an alert on the smartphone only if we have an iPhone, but not if we have an Android device. In this case, the only way to notice that we are being spied on is the acoustic signal emitted by the Airtag. But it is, in truth, a very weak warning that we may not perceive or identify easily.
Again, Apple has tried to run for cover by saying that by the end of the year it will provide Android users with an app to download to identify any unwanted Airtag.
The patch, however, looks almost worse than the hole. Do you have to be forced to download an app to verify that you are not being spied on? Is this the concept of freedom that non-Apple users must resign to?
It is striking that a company that declares itself to be attentive to privacy like Apple and that has stood out for protective attitudes (such as following the latest update of the iOS operating system in which it is possible for users to easily disable the tracking of applications), has put on the market a tool that can easily be used incorrectly, without adequate application of the principles of security e privacy by design (which were also introduced by the new regulation on the protection of personal data, the infamous GDPR).
But, perhaps, the most surprising thing is that this whole story has passed (and still is) practically hidden. Recently, Altroconsumo submitted a report to the Privacy Guarantor to open an investigation, but for users the lack of attention to privacy of Airtag does not seem to be a problem. For weeks, the new devices have been so hot that they are practically unobtainable. In short, the really worrying thing is that few have noticed the risks of this technology.
Although we are now digital citizens and consumers, we do not know how to recognize and understand the risks of surveillance and tracking. And so, we end up more worried about losing our house keys than our freedoms.
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