Apple's AirTag stalking alert reportedly sends false alarms with seemingly "phantom" alerts, which confuse and worry iPhone users.
NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 29: A man checks his phone in an Apple retail store in Grand Central Terminal, January 29, 2019 in New York City. Apple is set to report first-quarter earnings results after U.S. markets close on Tuesday.
Apple AirTag Stalking Alert
As per a news story by The Verge, Apple previously released an anti-stalking feature for its tracking device, the notorious AirTag.
It comes after multiple incidents wherein victims report they detected an AirTag attached to their belongings that creepingly tracks their whereabouts.
As a result, the Cupertino tech giant went on to introduce AirTags anti-stalking measures, which integrates into the iPhone.
The anti-stalking alerts on iPhone should notify users if an AirTag has been tracking them for an extended period already. The new safety measure that Apple created was to prevent stalkers from using the tracking device to follow their location without any prior consent.
AirTag Stalking 'Phantom' Alerts
However, this time around, according to a recent report by Wall Street Journal, the anti-stalking feature of Apple for AirTags has gone wonky. It reportedly started sending out "phantom" alerts, which give away false alarms to various iPhone users.
Apple's AirTag stalking alert reportedly sends false alarms to users’ iPhone. Is it another annoying bug?
What's exceedingly annoying about the "phantom" alerts is it occurs right in the middle of the night when most of us are sleeping or having our quiet time.
The false alarm alerts were reportedly showing weird map visuals. It is worth noting that the anti-stalking notification should pin the location of the owner of the AirTag on a digital map.
However, the phantom alerts could not show a specific location of a person. Instead, it confusingly illustrated multiple straight lines on the map that actually lead to nowhere.
The Verge noted in its report that the AirTag alert should show a specific location. Otherwise, it appears to be a mere bug or error.
Read Also: AirTag Stalking? Family Says Apple Device Tracked Them to Disney World
AirTag False Alarms Victims
Meanwhile, as per the latest story by Apple Insider, one of the iPhone users who experienced the "phantom" AirTag alert shared how it goes.
The unnamed victim of the false alarm shared to the news outlet that the experience was both frightening and confusing.
He also shared that the supposed movement of the AirTag on the map "looked super weird." As expected, the iPhone user did not find any AirTags after he searched near his house.
Another person who got the AirTag stalking false alarm on her iPhone said that she also did not find any tracking device in her belongings. She added that the Find My app left a pop-up saying "AirTag Not Reachable."
AirTag False Alarms: Why It's Happening
A spokesperson from Apple previously stated that iPhones could get false AirTag stalking alerts when it captures WiFi signals that could confuse its location services.
On top of that, the Apple spokesperson further said that densely populated spots like Disney World could trigger false alarms as well.
Related Article: Latest Firmware Update for Apple AirTag Tunes Undesirable Monitoring Sound
