They’re the incredible new piece of technology that have been taking social media by storm, but Montana Brown’s latest TikTok video has revealed a darker side to AirTags.
Speaking about her latest trip to LA for The Kids Choice Awards, Montana – who is currently expecting her first child with boyfriend Mark O’Connor – opened up about the moment that she realised that someone was tracking her location using one of the devices.
The Love Island series three contestant shared, ‘When I landed, I had this notification that said, “Unknown AirTag detected on your person and they are now following your location”.’
Knowing that she hadn’t put an AirTag on her luggage, Montana decided to empty out her bag in the bathroom after making her way through security and found an AirTag sat at the bottom of her bag.
Wanting to raise awareness about the situation - particularly to women travelling alone - Montana concluded, ‘Keep your wits about you and maybe when you get to the airport, empty out your bag. I flushed the AirTag down the toilet because that’s the first thing that popped into my head.
‘Please be safe and just make sure some creepy guy or girl isn’t following you.’
Montana’s followers were quick to share their concern for the reality star with one commenting, ‘How scary! You did the right thing! This is the second video I’ve seen about AirTags. Stay safe people’.
Another shared her own fears for the situation writing, ‘This makes me so scared for anyone who might not have an iPhone as they wouldn’t have had the notification… Can’t wrap my head around it!”
A quick check on TikTok suggests that this a massive problem at the moment with multiple women sharing similar stories. One user even revealed that an unknown AirTag actually tracked her to her house, but she was unable to disable the AirTag and couldn’t find the physical device.
Apparently, when she then contacted the local authorities, even using the non-emergency number, they replied that they were unable to do anything about the situation, whilst Apple said that were contacting their engineers to work out a solution to her not being able to disable it.
Apple has not commented on Montana's experience, but last year acknowledged 'reports of bad actors attempting to misuse AirTag for malicious or criminal purposes'. The company said it had put in place safeguards to prevent 'unwanted tracking', adding: 'Apple has been working closely with various safety groups and law enforcement agencies. Through our own evaluations and these discussions, we have identified even more ways we can update AirTag safety warnings and help guard against further unwanted tracking.'