Apple is facing more than 30 lawsuits from people who claim they were harassed using Apple AirTags. The filings come after a 2022 AirTag lawsuit (Hughes v. Apple) failed to achieve class certification.
In each filing, Apple is accused of releasing the AirTag while being aware that it could be “purchased and used by abusive and dangerous individuals, to track, coerce, control, and otherwise endanger and abuse innocent victims.”
Additionally, the lawsuits state that Apple knew that adequate safeguards were not in place when it launched the AirTag in 2021, and Apple is aware that “AirTags remain a significant risk” to people like the plaintiffs. Apple reportedly received more than 40,000 reports of harassment between April 2021 and April 2024, and internal Apple documents from the original lawsuit show that the company knew its safeguards would only “deter rather than prevent malicious use.” The company also acknowledged that it “should have consulted with domestic violence organizations on the unwanted tracking policy before shipping.”
Several news reports of AirTags being used for harassment are referenced, including cases that ended in murder. The lawsuits claim that AirTags “have revolutionized the scope, scale, and ease of location-based harassment.”
While there are other tracking options on the market, the AirTag uses the Find My network which leverages any nearby device to relay the location of the AirTag to its owner.
Apple has several anti-harassment measures in place, including cross-platform notifications that let potential victims of harassment know that an unknown AirTag is tracking them, but the plaintiffs do not believe Apple’s protections are adequate. The lawsuit cites the 4-8 hour delay before receiving a notification and notes that AirTags originally did not send notifications to potential victims of harassment for 72 hours.
One way an AirTag alerts users to its presence is by making 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, all of whom claim to have been tracked using an AirTag. The plaintiffs seek compensatory damages, punitive damages, attorneys’ fees and an order restraining Apple from engaging in the illegal business practices alleged in the filings.
The judge overseeing the 2022 AirTag trial denied class certification due to the difference in state laws and the individual nature of each stalking incident. Plaintiffs were advised to file individual lawsuits within 28 days of the denial of class certification.