A new AirTag lawsuit puts Apple's handling of disabled tracking alerts at the center of a demand for stronger safeguards.
A Washington woman is suing Apple after alleging AirTag safeguards failed to prevent tracking during domestic abuse. The lawsuit alleges her husband concealed three AirTags among her belongings.
According to the complaint, seen by King5, one tracker was found in her son's diaper bag, while a second was found hidden inside the rear-seat upholstery of the her car. A third tracker was found within the console of her husband's car, which she'd borrowed for a trip to Oregon.
She alleges that other people's phones reportedly detected the devices, while her iPhone never warned her. She says her husband used her iPhone passcode to disable unwanted tracking notifications repeatedly.
The woman believes it should not have been that easy for her husband to thwart the stalking notifications. She argues Apple should require further biometric confirmation for those changes even after the device is unlocked, and notify users when warnings are disabled.
The complaint describes physical violence, sexual assaults, and threats, followed by a protection order in November 2024. The order prohibited electronic surveillance and location tracking after the court found her husband posed a credible threat.
She reports ongoing fear, sleep problems, difficulty socializing, and job loss, alongside more than $60,000 in attorney fees. Her lawsuit seeks damages, legal expenses, additional Apple safety protections, and a jury trial.
Apple's tiny tracker has been under fire recently. In August, two women in Michigan sued Apple, alleging they never received unwanted tracking notifications while being stalked by former partners.
An Oregon woman filed a lawsuit against Apple in September. She claims that a former partner had hidden an AirTag under her vehicle and that her iPhone never alerted her to its presence.
