Comment by stephenr
12 days ago
I think you'll find it's not so much about how likely the event is (stalking vs theft) as it is about the potential impact of the event.
The things you want to "protect" with an invisible AirTag are, at their core "just stuff".
The things being protected by not selling an invisible AirTag are, at their core "people".
I think if my car is stolen, it's probably a bigger deal for me personally than stalking.
I'm not a female, so I don't anticipate a civilian stalking me for really any reason. A non-civilian wouldn't use an airtag.
Zero stalkers are stopped because of airtag policies, since many other devices exist.
There are infinitely better ways to protect your car from being stolen than putting a fucking AirTag in it, and as a bonus you can buy all of them without sounding self-centred and flippant about real threats to other people.
It's not to prevent my car being stolen. It's to find it after it's stolen.
People have been stalking each other since long before airtags.
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Increasing the friction and difficulty to stalk someone definitely results in less actual stalking. I'm sure some would-be stalker can figure out AirTags but can't figure out or afford the alternatives.
Also, wouldn't this argument apply to the use of AirTags as anti-theft devices? Since AirTag alternatives exist, just use the alternatives devices for anti-theft that also work for stalking. But some people don't do this and just want to use AirTags for anti-theft purposes. Which sort of illustrates my point. Fewer people do a thing when it's harder. No would care that AirTags aren't good for anti-theft if there were alternatives equally as good.
> Increasing the friction and difficulty to stalk someone definitely results in less actual stalking.
No it doesn't.
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