Epic boss Sweeney finds Apple’s “Where is it?” tracking “super creepy”

Users have been able to provide their Apple devices with protection from theft and loss for years if they wish. It’s called “Where is it?” (Find My) and lets you remotely locate, wipe and lock the device. Tim Sweeney, CEO of game maker Epic Games, which has been in legal disputes with Apple over App Store commissions for years, has now explored the system in the context of MacBook thefts, but he doesn’t like it. At all. Let it work “Super Creepy Surveillance Technique” (“super-creepy surveillance technology”) that “shouldn’t exist.”

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Privacy for thieves

“Where is it?” Sweeney was also very helpful: “Years ago” a Mac laptop was stolen from his car, which he used when investigating “years later” “Where is it?” was discovered. “It showed a map of the house where the kid who stole the Mac lives. WTF Apple? How is this okay?” Sweeney got millions of views with the controversial statement. An X user replied that he didn’t see a problem here. “The laptop is geolocated, not the kid. You could have notified the police and gotten the laptop back?”

That’s “technically correct,” Sweney said. “But that’s not the point: You can’t track a device without tracking its location, and people have a right to privacy.” Privacy also applies to buyers of second-hand devices “and even to thieves.” While that right is “not absolute,” it should only be taken away through the proper legal process. “It’s a matter of due process.”

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Swinney responded with a passive “Where is it?”

Like Swinney’s “Where is it?” He didn’t say he got the coordinates of his MacBook. He would also have “Where is it?” Can disable it even from a distance It works – if he wants to let the thief enjoy the device to its fullest. That’s what Swinney wants do it now too. “When I unexpectedly received the child’s address I was horrified and I turned off Find My iPhone on all my devices.”

According to Swinney, he also fears that “where is the point when representatives of the law should intervene and “vigilante justice” may occur. “Any kind of surveillance network in these devices should not be activated without the clear and unambiguous consent of the user.”

(B.Sc.)