Apple’s “Find My” tracking feature
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Some people use Apple’s location sharing and features like Find my to keep an eye on their husbands, but a recent poll showed how divisive the technology can cause.
Recently, a mom posted an informal poll on the BabyCenter community, a website that provides pregnancy and parenting tips for people. The community is a forum for staying in touch with other parents, and there has been some discussion about this recently husbands follow.
“My husband is now traveling to see a friend. He has been gone since Friday and will be home tomorrow. When talking to a friend about his trip, she asked me why I don’t just follow his location to see what he intends.
I would never do this, but I’m curious how common it is. She insists it’s pretty common and if the technology exists, why not just use it?
I believe it is a violation of privacy and even if DH agreed, sometimes less information is best. I wouldn’t want to be followed either.”
One in three of the 1,020 members who responded to the poll say they track their partner’s whereabouts and primarily use “Find My” and “Share My Location” on their iPhone.
The most common reasons for tracking included timing the partner’s return for meal preparation, making sure they reached their destination safely, making schedules to pick up the kids, and in case of an emergency. However, most of the responses to the poll came from people who disagreed and said they weren’t following their partner.
Many believed it violated their privacy and could increase fears of sharing too much personal information. Others said they weren’t interested because they could text or call their partner.
Some comments also shifted to mention kids and how some are using tracking technology for that purpose, especially to make sure teens who have started driving are okay. Aging parents are also a factor for some.
“I know that many in my circle of friends and family have shared their location with spouses and even other relatives,” one commenter said in part. “For example, I can monitor my parents, which is admittedly helpful as they get older in their home and are likely to deal with dementia in the years to come.”
Some don’t like it
The intentions behind following a family can be mixed, such as following a spouse in an emergency compared to following out of possessiveness or jealousy. But it adds another angle to the topic of tracking, especially with Apple technology.
AirTags can also be used for location tracking
For example, the same commenter said, “I “threatened” several times to throw an air tag into the car, but never pulled the trigger.” Apples AirTags released in 2021 often appear in the media because they can track the location of a person or object.
Company certainly not market it as a pet or child tracking device, but some people will inevitably use the devices that way.
From time to time, stories of stalking via AirTags appear. In a report On March 28, Australian travelers discovered an AirTag in their luggage, forcing them to make major changes to their plans.
And on March 23, former Love Island star Montana Brown shared how someone was stalking her location using an AirTag.
But as BabyCenter’s forum members share their stories, it’s clear that – as always – technology can be used for good and for evil.