It’s a new-age, high-tech nightmare. The very devices consumers purchase to make life easier and more comfortable can be used against them by hostile parties. One Florida woman experienced this invasion of privacy firsthand when a stalker hid a pair of AirPods on her vehicle to track her movements. Fortunately, the victim found the device with some help, allowing the police to arrest the man for his crimes.  

A Florida man is behind bars after using Apple AirPods to track a woman by concealing them in her vehicle

I said it when the first set of Apple AirPods hit retailers. Something along the lines of “those are so small that people will lose them.” While my curmudgeonly statement was at least partially true, Apple allows users to use locating services to zero in on their missing devices. Problem solved, right? Well, that one, at least.

Then there’s the prospect of bad guys using GPS-enabled devices like AirPods and AirTag trackers to track the whereabouts of unsuspecting people. In one recent case, a 28-year-old Florida man, Luis Rendon, placed a set of AirPods in a plastic bag and hid them on a woman’s car.

Using location services, Rendon was able to track the woman’s movements every time she drove her car. Rendon continued his creepy escapades, like showing up at her apartment complex, where he pulled the fire alarm in an attempt to force her from her dwelling.

The woman contacted a friend, explaining that she was afraid Rendon was tracking her vehicle. Sure enough, they inspected her vehicle and found the hidden AirPods tucked under the car. Police questioned Rendon and ultimately arrested him for invasion of privacy and stalking, per WESH. 

Take steps to make yourself harder to track

It’s virtually impossible to avoid every example of modern technology. But there are a few things you can do to make yourself a trickier target.

For starters, pay mind to the messages your phone sends you. With Apple iPhones, you can enable tracking notifications. That setting allows your iPhone to push you a notification when it detects an unrecognized AirTag, AirPods, or a similar device traveling with you.

Beyond Apple’s tracking notifications, Android users and consumers with other types of cell phones can download apps like “tracker detect,” an application that promises to allow you to “easily find your devices [like] AirPods, Apple Pencil, Apple Watch, headphones, AirTags, and Bluetooth devices.”

That said, Redditors on this thread find the application to be yet another invasion of privacy, despite its ability to detect Bluetooth-enabled trackers.

Finally, if you suspect that a malicious party has placed a device on your vehicle, contact the authorities. Remember to use caution when manually inspecting your vehicle for hidden devices.