A video has gone viral on TikTok. This isn’t new; what’s new is the reason it went viral. A man in Illinois, after selling a Toyota 4Runner, decided to attach an AirTag to track where its new owner was taking it. “We’re going to have some fun with this one, trust me,” the man says at the beginning of the video, incriminating himself in something that could be a crime, since GPS tracking is reportable. The car ended up in Newark, as it later emerged. Apparently, the only goal was to have fun, as the user himself says.
The seller decided to add an AirTag to track the car and determine its final destination
And the sale went through without a hitch. The garage that had sold it was about to receive a bank transfer within 48 hours of the car’s sale. Apparently, it was extreme curiosity that led the seller to track the car. As he explains: “I politely ask her, ‘Hey, where are you taking this to?'” the man says and continues: “Are you exploiting it to Europe? Are you exporting it to Africa? Where is it going? I’m curious.” But the fact is that the answer was not what he expected. “She tells me it’s none of my business, I ask again [and] she tells me it’s none of my business,” the man explains.
The seller decides to add an AirTag to track the car and determine its final destination. He unfastens the strap, attaches the AirTag, and reattaches it. This is demonstrated in the video he recorded himself. TikTok user @autopartscity posted a potentially incriminating video, receiving over 1.7 million views and 52,500 likes.
AirTags, for those who don’t know, are tracking devices released by Apple in 2021. They’re small devices that people often attach to things they might lose. For example, in suitcases when taking long trips, on their pets’ collars, as a keychain to always find their keys… The AirTag simply attaches to the user’s iPhone, and the tracking feature is activated, always available to locate the object.
The TikTok user shows the trajectory and everything he does with the AirTag
In this way, the TikTok user shows the trajectory and everything he does with the AirTag. Showing the tracking device connected to his personal cell phone, the man began to discuss his movement through Brookeville, Pennsylvania, to Columbia, New Jersey, all the way to his new destination at a port in Newark.
“It’s gonna be super fun to find out where on earth this Toyota 4Runner decides to show up,” the man says. All this before other social media users started commenting on the post. Users began to point out that what he had done was wrong, not funny, and illegal. “I’m pretty sure it’s illegal to put a tracker in a vehicle without the owner’s permission,” one commenter says, receiving over 379 likes.
Apple users: The phone itself detects if you have an AirTag in your purse or backpack
For those wondering, it is possible to detect if someone has attached an AirTag to your device to track you. The problem is that this is apparently only available to iPhone users. The phone itself detects if you have an AirTag in your purse or backpack and notifies the smartphone owner if it’s aware of the AirTag it doesn’t recognize.
And regarding the legality of this type of act, which is not the first time it’s been reported, we can say that yes, it is illegal. All the commentators are right. The National Conference of State Legislatures explains that it is, in fact, illegal to place tracking devices on another person’s vehicle. While there are some exceptions depending on the state, in general, such an action could result in a penalty ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony. Therefore, it’s not fun to place a tracking device, record the misdeed, or face the consequences.
