Google is reportedly working on an Apple AirTag tracker rival, but can the company overcome pervasive privacy and stalking concerns?
Coming on the heels of Apple’s AirTag, Google is now expected to be preparing its own personal tracker just in time for Google I/O 2023. These new trackers, code-named Grogu after the popular Baby Yoda character from The Mandalorian, are aimed at leveraging the power of Android’s Google Play Services-equipped devices to create a personal tracking network so powerful it rivals Apple’s.
Apple’s AirTag knows controversy all too well The controversy around AirTags is simple. They are small, cheap, inexpensive trackers that have been used to help people keep track of their luggage and other belongings, as well as for more nefarious purposes like stalking people and setting people up for robberies. Apple has added anti-stalking features to AirTags over the past year, but the incidents keep recurring because — well, AirTags are good at their jobs.
Certainly, Google has a better chance of doing things right here. Apple AirTags has been out for several years and the company has made a few mistakes that updates have corrected. Google could simply build in those corrections into its own tags and neuter the problem outright. Google has never been known for its privacy practices, and AirTags represent an untapped market for the company’s Android partners. At the end of the day, the tracking milk has already been spilled, the toothpaste can’t be put back in the tub, and other tedious metaphors of that kind.The issue remains that any product which is good at tracking things is inherently one that’s good at tracking people.
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