Airtag speaker removal


Predictably, Apple's Airtag has been met with some controversy. Airtags work really well for their intended purposes but pose risks. Even after Apple beefed up anti-stalking features, privacy concerns persist. One countermeasure for stalking is an Airtag will emit an audible alert if it's been away from its owner for a period of time.

This seems reasonable but can be ineffective if the Airtag is placed somewhere someone won't hear it. Such as hidden outside of a car behind a license plate.

Another issue is the tiny speaker can be removed or disabled without too much bother. I'll leave it up to your imagination and/or Google skills to figure it out, but an Airtag speaker can be accessed through disassembly. Somewhat ironically, Apple designed the device so that the battery is user-replaceable, unlike most everything else it makes. For the motivated, access to its innards is just a few surgical steps further.

Airtag will also alert users on an iOS device. This capability is only helpful if someone has an Apple device, although Apple says Android support is coming, but it sounds like you need to have an app. This may not be helpful for unwitting people who haven't installed an app or simply don't carry a smartphone of any kind.