They Made You Feel Hunted. It’s Time to Fight Back.
If someone used an Apple AirTag® to track you without your consent, you may be able to file an AirTag® stalking lawsuit against Apple. A Case for Women helps women who were stalked or harassed with AirTag® devices understand their legal options, and connects them with attorneys that will represent them on a contingency fee basis.
Last reviewed and updated: September 2026
Table of Contents
How Can Someone Be Stalked with an Apple AirTag®? | How is the AirTag® a Stalking Tool? | How Do I Know If I’m Being Tracked? | When Tracking Turns to Violence | Can I Pursue an Apple AirTag® Stalking Lawsuit? | How We Can Help
What You Need to Know About the Apple AirTag® Stalking Lawsuit.
- AirTag® stalking reports: Apple received 40,000+ stalking reports tied to AirTags® between April 2021 and April 2024. Many of the women reported that the use of AirTag® led to violence, sexual assault, the need to relocate to escape stalkers, and even murder.
- What the lawsuits allege: It is alleged that Apple knew about the potential for stalking before they launched the product and yet did not take appropriate safety measures to avoid misuse. In fact, domestic violence advocates warned Apple about this issue early on.
- How A Case for Women helps: We’ve already spoken with thousands of women who have experienced significant abuse after someone, often an ex, used an Apple AirTag® to locate and terrorize them. Our goal is to connect women to powerhouse attorneys filing lawsuits that will not only seek to compensate them, but will push Apple to make the devices safer.
- Individual lawsuits, not a class action: A judge ruled in 2026 that each woman’s experience was too individual, and often too serious, to proceed as one class action, so claims are now being filed as separate lawsuits.
That Feeling of Being Followed? It Wasn’t in Your Head.
If you found a small, unfamiliar device tucked into your car’s wheel well, sewn into a jacket lining, or slipped into a bag you carry every day, your instincts deserve to be taken seriously. Being tracked without your knowledge is a violation. According to AirTag® stalking lawsuits filed against Apple and publicly reported, tracking without consent has allegedly been made easier for a significant number of people by a $29 device the size of a quarter.
Apple’s AirTag® tracking device was marketed as a simple way to find lost keys or luggage. But according to lawsuits filed against Apple, it has also been alleged to be one of the more accessible tools available for stalking.
According to plaintiffs’ filings, advocates and technologists warned Apple before the release of the AirTag® that the product could foreseeably be misused for stalking, and Apple allegedly proceeded to launch it while describing certain safety features as making the devices “stalker proof.”1 These are allegations made in litigation; they have not been proven or adjudicated.
“Apple heedlessly forged ahead, dismissing concerns and pointing to mitigation features that it claimed rendered the devices ‘stalker proof.’”
from plaintiffs’ filings against Apple Inc.2
(This is an allegation from a court filing; it has not been proven or adjudicated.)
How Can Someone Be Stalked with an Apple AirTag® Tracking Device?
An AirTag® is a small Bluetooth tracking disc that uses Apple’s massive “Find My” network (essentially every nearby iPhone) to silently relay its location back to whoever owns it. Using that same design, AirTag® devices deliver signals via Bluetooth that allow nearby devices to locate the tag’s whereabouts, and while Apple markets them as a way to find misplaced items, they can also be planted on a person’s property so stalkers can track their location.
AirTag® devices are inexpensive, about $29, small (roughly 1.29 inches), and can run for close to a year on one battery, making them easy for a stalker to hide somewhere a potential victim will unknowingly keep with her for weeks. Because the device quietly relays its location through Apple’s Find My network rather than announcing itself, many women don’t discover they’ve been tracked until they notice a pattern too consistent to be coincidence: Someone always seems to know where they are.
Each year, an estimated 13.5 million people in the United States are stalked, and an AirTag® stalking lawsuit argues that AirTag® devices have made that abuse easier to carry out and harder to detect.
Apple has been hit with at least 22 lawsuits, all alleging that design elements of the AirTag® facilitate stalking, and by May 2026 that number had grown to more than 30 lawsuits from people who say they were stalked using AirTag® devices.4,5,6
Apple reportedly received more than 40,000 stalking reports connected to AirTag® devices between April 2021 and April 2024, and an AirTag® stalking lawsuit alleges internal company documents show Apple knew its safeguards would only “deter as opposed to prevent” malicious use and acknowledged it should have consulted domestic abuse organizations before the product ever shipped.8
Why Has the AirTag® Tracking Device Been Described as a Tool for Stalking?
An Apple AirTag® stalking lawsuit describes the device as having “revolutionized the scope, breadth, and ease of location-based stalking.”7 Several design flaws are central to the litigation:
- Delayed alerts. Court filings note that early AirTag® users weren’t warned of an unknown tracker until 72 hours had passed. Even today’s alerts can take four to eight hours to reach a potential victim.9
- Silenceable devices. AirTag® devices are designed to chirp when separated from their owner, but the speaker can be removed, and sellers on sites like eBay openly offer modified, silent AirTag® devices built specifically to defeat that protection.10
- Difficult to physically locate. Even after a woman receives an alert that an unknown device is traveling with her, she often has no reliable way to pinpoint and remove it herself.11
- Slow protections for Android users. For more than two years after launch, women who didn’t carry an iPhone had far fewer built-in defenses against being tracked.2
How Do I Know If I’m Being Stalked With an Apple AirTag®?
If something feels wrong, trust your gut. Here’s how to check:
- iPhone® users: Open the Find My app, go to the “Me” tab, and confirm Tracking Notifications are turned on. If an unknown AirTag® has been traveling with you, you should receive an alert — tap it to see how long it’s been with you and use “Play Sound” to help locate it.
- Android® users: Go to Settings > Safety and Emergency > Unknown Tracker Alerts to turn on alerts and manually scan for nearby trackers.
- Either device: Download Apple’s free Tracker Detect app to manually search for a hidden AirTag® near you at any time.
- Physically check your car (wheel wells, bumpers, undercarriage), bags, coat pockets, and any gifts from someone you no longer trust.
While there are some notifications related to AirTag® devices, it’s surprisingly complex. Be sure to read up on the latest so you can stay informed.
If you believe you’re in immediate danger, please contact local law enforcement or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, available 24/7. This website is not a substitute for emergency services, safety planning, or independent legal advice, and messages submitted through this site may not be reviewed immediately.
When Tracking Turns to Violence.
This isn’t theoretical. An AirTag® stalking lawsuit filed against Apple describes the alleged experiences of several women who say their lives were upended:
- Lauren Hughes, a named plaintiff, alleges her former boyfriend placed an AirTag® in the wheel well of her car and used it to learn her new address after she moved to get away from him — later he posted a photo online of a taco truck from her new neighborhood, tagged with a winking emoji and the hashtag “#airt2.0.”12
- Jane Doe, another plaintiff, alleges her estranged husband tracked her after hiding an AirTag® in their child’s backpack.13,14
- Áine O’Neill, an Irish actress who moved to the U.S. to build her career, says she was forced to move back home after she couldn’t locate an AirTag® her stalker had placed in her car and couldn’t afford to have the vehicle taken apart to find it, ultimately giving up her life here out of fear for her safety.15
These are allegations made by other plaintiffs in separate lawsuits against Apple; they are not claims about your situation, and they do not guarantee any particular outcome for your case.
Did something like this happen to you? Our team is ready to listen.
Whatever you experienced, and however it may sound to you, we take it seriously. Contact us if you believe you were stalked or hurt by someone using an Apple AirTag® to track your location.
Can I Pursue an AirTag® Stalking Lawsuit?
Here’s the plain answer: You may be able to pursue an AirTag® stalking lawsuit if someone placed an Apple AirTag® on your vehicle, in your bag, or among your belongings without your knowledge or consent and used it to track your location and harass and harm you.
Attorneys reviewing these cases generally consider factors such as:
- Unwanted tracking: an AirTag® was hidden on your car, in your bag, or among your belongings and used to follow you without your consent.
- Harm you experienced: not just physical injury. Emotional distress, fear for your safety, moving, changing routines, or vehicle inspection costs all count.
- Evidence: tracker alerts, screenshots, the device or its serial number, police reports, or texts showing someone knew where you were. You don’t need all of these or the AirTag® itself.
- Timing: filing deadlines vary by state, so reach out even if it happened a while ago.
If you’re asking this question, chances are you’ve replayed the details in your head more than once, wondering if what happened to you was “bad enough,” or if you’ll be believed, or if it’s even worth bringing up at all.
You don’t need to have handled every moment perfectly, or known right away what was happening. Many of the women we talk to did not realize an AirTag® was tracking them until weeks or months later – sometimes even finding the AirTag® by accident. What matters is your own experience.
There’s no cost for an initial case review and no obligation to move forward. Reaching out doesn’t create an attorney-client relationship or commit you to anything. It gives you a chance to share what happened and find out whether you may have legal options.
You Deserve to Feel Safe.
We’re Here to Help You Get There.
A few things worth holding onto:
- Being tracked without your consent is not something you brought on yourself. It is a violation, and the law recognizes that.
- Advocates warned Apple this would happen, and the AirTag® stalking lawsuit alleges the company moved forward anyway.
- Taking action may help hold Apple accountable and could benefit others in similar situations.
If an AirTag® was used to track you, please reach out. We can help you understand whether you may have a potential legal claim and, if appropriate, connect you with an attorney for a free case evaluation. Any representation is subject to a written fee agreement, and there is no guarantee of a particular outcome.
Some of our related casework includes:
Our team is ready to listen. Contact us anytime, for non-emergency inquiries. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233.
AirTag, Find My, iPhone, Tracker Detect, and Apple are trademarks of Apple Inc. Android is a trademark of Google LLC. eBay, Uber, and Lyft are trademarks of their respective owners. All trademarks, product names, and company names are the property of their respective owners and are used for identification and descriptive purposes only. This website is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Apple Inc. or any other trademark owner named herein.
Can A Case for Women Help?
There’s no cost for an initial case review and no obligation to move forward.
Sources
- Anna Moore, “‘I didn’t want it anywhere near me’: how the Apple AirTag became a gift to stalkers,” The Guardian, September 5, 2022.
- Juli Clover, “Apple Faces Dozens of Lawsuits Over AirTag Stalking After Class Action Denied,” MacRumors, May 1, 2026.
- Chloe Suzman, “Apple AirTag Stalking Class Action Survives Motion to Dismiss,” Harvard Journal of Law & Technology, 2024.
- Kat Black, “Apple Slammed in Calif. Federal Court With Lawsuits OverAirTag’s Alleged Use in Stalking,” Law.com, May 4, 2026.
- Staff, “Apple Faces More Than 30 New Lawsuits Over AirTag Stalking Claims,” MacObserver, May 2, 2026.
- Jonathan Stempel, “Apple Is Sued by Women Who Say AirTag Lets Stalkers Track Victims,” Reuters via Yahoo Finance, December 6, 2022.
- Suzanne Smalley, “In AirTags Stalking Lawsuit, Federal Judge Says Apple Likely Negligent,” The Record, January 4, 2024.
- Julie Clover, “Apple Faces Dozens.”
- Julie Clover, “Apple Faces Dozens.”
- Ayana Archie, “Two women who allege they were stalked and harassed using AirTags are suing Apple,” NPR, December 7, 2022.
- Chloe Suzman, “Apple AirTag Stalking.”
- Amanda Holpuch, “Two Women Sue Apple Over AirTag Stalking,” New York Times, December 6, 2022.
- Ayana Archie, “Two women.”
- Nicholas Lentz, “Michigan lawsuit alleges Apple has failed to ‘adequately protect’ people from being stalked with AirTags,” CBS News, August 16, 2026.
- Michael Staines, “‘I Was Terrified’ – Irish actress sues Apple after stalker tracks her using AirTag,” newsTALK, April 10, 2024.
WE WEAR THIS BADGE PROUDLY. Because, in a time when legal services are still dominated by men, only a Women Owned Business can bring the woman’s perspective to issues that disproportionately affect women.
We are the ones, far more than men, who are injured by sexual assault, financial scams, the gender pay gap, toxic chemicals, and the misguided practices of powerful pharmaceutical companies.
