Apple is facing over 30 lawsuits from people who claim to have been stalked using Apple AirTags. The filings come after an AirTag lawsuit from 2022 (Hughes v. Apple) failed to get class certification.
In each filing, Apple is accused of releasing the AirTag while being aware that it could be "purchased and used by abusive, dangerous individuals, to track, coerce, control, and otherwise endanger and abuse innocent victims."
Further, the lawsuits say that Apple knew adequate safeguards were not in place when the AirTag launched in 2021, and Apple is aware that "AirTags remain a profound risk" to people like the plaintiffs. Apple reportedly received more than 40,000 stalking reports between April 2021 and April 2024, and Apple internal documents sourced from the original lawsuit show the company knew its safeguards would only "deter as opposed to prevent malicious use." The company also acknowledged that it "should have consulted domestic abuse organizations on the unwanted tracking policy before shipping."
Multiple news reports of AirTags being used for stalking are referenced, including cases that ended in murder. The lawsuits claim that AirTags "revolutionized the scope, breadth, and ease of location-based stalking."
While there are other tracking options on the market, the AirTag uses the Find My network that leverages any nearby device to relay the AirTag's location back to its owner.
Apple has put multiple anti-stalking measures in place, including cross-platform notifications that let potential stalking victims know that an unknown AirTag is following them, but the plaintiffs don't feel that Apple's protections are adequate. The lawsuit cites the 4-to-8-hour delay before a notification is received, and notes that originally, AirTags didn't send a notification to potential stalking victims until 72 hours had passed.
One of the ways an AirTag alerts users to its presence is by playing a sound, but the speaker can be removed. Sellers on sites like eBay even offer modified silent AirTags.
Each lawsuit includes the personal story of the plaintiff involved and all of whom claim to have been stalked using an AirTag. Plaintiffs are seeking compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorney's fees, and an order preventing Apple from engaging in the unlawful business practices alleged in the filings.
The judge overseeing the 2022 AirTag lawsuit denied class certification because of the difference in state laws and the individual nature of each stalking incident. The plaintiffs were advised to file individual lawsuits within 28 days of the class certification denial.
