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.

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