Tracking Apple

Tracking Apple

Apple has been sprucing up its mobile operating system, bolstering privacy and safety features and sprinkling in some new emoji to boot. But while the company shores up iOS, it has also faced renewed criticism about privacy lapses in its AirTags trackers. Reports of the devices being used by stalkers to track others without their permission have raised questions about Apple's tracking tech. Why did it take so long for the company to introduce features that could alert or protect potential victims? And why didn't Apple anticipate these types of abuse would happen in the first place?

This week on Gadget Lab, WIRED product writer Brenda Stolyar joins us to run through the new features on iOS and discuss where Apple went wrong with AirTags.

Show Notes:

Read more about the new features in iOS 15.4. Here’s the New York Times story about tracking people with AirTags. Read the Washington Post article, also about AirtTag stalking.

Recommendations:

Brenda recommends the podcast “Storytime With Seth Rogan.” Mike recommends Provecho, a vegan Mexican cuisine cookbook by Edgar Castrejón. Lauren recommends telling us your own recommendations for cool stuff by tweeting @GadgetLab.

Brenda Stolyar can be found on Twitter @BStoly. Lauren Goode is @LaurenGoode. Michael Calore is @snackfight. Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. The show is produced by Boone Ashworth (@booneashworth). Our theme music is by Solar Keys.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jaksot(430)

I Never Metaverse I Didn’t Like

I Never Metaverse I Didn’t Like

The metaverse. A simulated world, controlled with inputs from our reality to merge cyberspace and meatspace into one plane of existence. If this sounds like a sci-fi concept from the early ‘90s, that’...

27 Elo 202136min

Pixel Party

Pixel Party

By now, Google has gotten the hang of making solid affordable phones. Its new Pixel 5A has just about all the features most people need in a phone, and the company is selling the handsets for the dece...

20 Elo 202131min

Apple’s Photo-Scanning Tech Explained

Apple’s Photo-Scanning Tech Explained

Recently, Apple revealed some new technical measures in Messages, iCloud, Siri, and search that are meant to protect children from sexual abuse online. Apple says that its new blend of on-device and c...

13 Elo 202128min

I Can Haz Memes

I Can Haz Memes

Internet memes seem harmless enough. A few pictures of cats with some grammatically incorrect text—what could go wrong? Well, memes have come a long way since the early days of the internet. For more ...

6 Elo 202137min

Inside Black Twitter

Inside Black Twitter

If you've been on Twitter, then you've been on Black Twitter. No other subsection of social media has produced ideas and movements as influential or as dynamic as those that have come from Black voice...

30 Heinä 202127min

Bezos in Space

Bezos in Space

This week, Jeff Bezos flew to space. Or, at least high enough into the sky for it to technically count. While his 10-minute joyride in a Blue Origin rocket was mainly intended to draw attention to his...

23 Heinä 202132min

Why WeWork Didn't Work

Why WeWork Didn't Work

In the 11 years since its founding, WeWork has had a wild ride. At its core, it's a real estate company that subleases trendy office spaces to other businesses. But the workers at the company, lead by...

16 Heinä 202135min

I Bike, You Bike, Ebike

I Bike, You Bike, Ebike

Electric bikes are exploding. Not literally—most of the time, anyway—but ebikes are certainly in demand. Companies that operate bikeshare networks are upgrading their ebike fleets as they try to entic...

9 Heinä 202133min