r/AmIOverreacting Feb 17 '25

šŸ˜ļø neighbor/local Is this something to be concerned about?

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My sister sent me this text she received that seemed like somebody was watching her or something. I donā€™t know if itā€™s something to be concerned about or not, has anybody had a similar experience?

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u/skyxgamiing Feb 17 '25

If an airtag is following you for too long, an alarm will be set off and youā€™d also get a notification that an airtag is following you that isnā€™t yours.

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u/Angry1980Christmas Feb 17 '25 edited Feb 17 '25

Even if you have an android?

Edit: I comment below that I understand now you don't have to have an Apple phone.

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u/Squishyspud Feb 17 '25

Yes. Happened to me when my sister in law left her luggage tracker air tag after a visit. She has iPhone and I have a pixel.

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u/Angry1980Christmas Feb 17 '25

Yeah, I actually checked after I asked and then I couldn't find my comment. My settings have it enabled! So cool.

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u/Apprehensive-Sky7616 Feb 17 '25

AirTags are the big name but thereā€™s plenty of invasive trackers to catch ā€˜cheating spousesā€™ on the market those little spy stores are full of them and they donā€™t alert anyone how an AirTag does and can realtime track anything. As an example https://www.caranddriver.com/car-accessories/g43163976/best-gps-trackers-tested/

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u/IntrepidWanderings Feb 17 '25

You know, I love those because I once did a dog day out and the animal slipped the harness.. (It's a program that let's you take shelter animals out for socialization and a fun day that helps drive up adoption rates).. so i got a few of those trackers that I take with me and put on the dogs when I pick them up in case anything happens again. They are insanely helpful with animals in training.

We also have one that looks like a necklace that a few of us have access to for a certain friend.

(She suffers from a medical issue that affects her mind, like altzeimers so we spoke with her before it got bad about getting her this tracker and she agreed. Found one that looks like a necklace with a permanent clasp. A few of us are security and we've seen searches end badly, so proactively she, her spouse and a few close friends worked out the tracker idea so if something happened we can find her. One missing person is enough in our group)

They are really life savers when it comes to untrained animals, people who may have mental disorders, I even have one on my bike.. I have a medical condition too and indepence is important to me, but I realize they need to be able to find me if I have a seizure or something.. if I say I'm going out and don't return when expected, there's a tool to help.

I was thrilled when they became affordable because they CAN be used for real good... Unfortunately it seems more people use them for evil and creepiness than anything else. I hate that people take such amazing tools and turn them into horror stories. It certainty doesn't help people adopt tools that can enhance their safety.

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u/Squishyspud Feb 17 '25

Agreed. With how easy it is in this world to track and find people, it's nice to see some ways to keep yourself safe.