Beep boop - this is a robot. A new show has been posted to TWiT…
What are your thoughts about today’s show? We’d love to hear from you!
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Have Apple created themselves an issue with their privacy standpoint on AirTags? The issue exists on all tracking devices (although FindMe has more devices contributing location updates).
Alex described the reset of the 3-day rule when people came home as a good thing for tracking his kids. But this is a bad thing in an unhealthy relationship.
A few times the panel mentioned the backstop of the AirTag chirping eventually, gets around the Android privacy issue or on an older iPhone. But you can remove the speaker in an AirTag in minutes. People are already doing it to make them more useful for theft tracking.
Not sure Apple can get out of this situation with software updates TBH.
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Alex made a good point about Apple creating a uniquely great place with the App Store. Andy responded by saying he’d give the Google Play Store a B+ to the App Store’s A-. Andy might be right from a user’s point of view, but when you consider the monetary value of the respective app store’s, Google’s grade has to go down to a C at best. Google Play Store generates just over half the revenue of the App Store despite having a significantly larger share of the market. This is why so many apps go to iOS first. There is just a much better opportunity to make money. Part of the value of the App Store accrues to the Apple ecosystem as a whole and the fact that the ecosystem attracts the most valuable consumers. Whether Apple deserves 30% of in app revenue is questionable, as are a ton of other business practices, but I think people shouldn’t lose sight of the value that Apple has created and continues to build on for everyone in this ecosystem.
I would argue that it’s worse with Tile. To my knowledge, a Tile doesn’t emit a sound after three days or make any attempt to alert others that it is being used to actively track someone or something.
This is the problem with the monopoly argument. It all depends on how you segment the market. Overall, Google has a monopoly if the audience consists of all smartphone users. If you look at market share based on household income, Apple has a monopoly (based on what I have read in the past, I am having trouble finding a source at the moment).
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True. But then, Tile aren’t using privacy as a USP. It’s certainly raised the awareness of privacy issues with these things anyway.
I’m seeing it on cycling forums. How to alter an AirTag to make it a decent theft tracking device.
I suppose. I don’t know how you can release a device that is purpose built to track things without some sort of a privacy violation. It’s baked into the premise of the product category.
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I see Tile are now going to be on Amazon’s Sidewalk network. US only though at the moment. Read somewhere the radio range is half a mile from a Ring camera for example. And it can tell you which Amazon Echo it’s closest to if lost in the house.
No big advantage there. Most people don’t enable Sidewalk.
Not live yet, is it?
I thought Amazon was going with on by default? Most people will never even realize it’s an option to manage.
That was the plan. I’m quite looking forward to it for IoT stuff. My cameras, for example, always seem to fail to notify me when I most need them to. I’ve assumed that is my unreliable ISP, so a backup connection via Sidewalk might help.
So the device specifically made to TRACK things could be used to, TRACK things?? 
I love Rene and Leo but this episode was made by the back and forth of Alex and Andy. Great episode!
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