Apple AirTag lawsuits overview:
- Who: More than a dozen individuals filed separate lawsuits against Apple Inc.
- Why: Plaintiffs allege Apple’s AirTags were used by stalkers to track them without their consent or knowledge.
- Where: The lawsuits were filed in California federal court.
More than a dozen people have filed individual lawsuits against Apple after a prior class action lawsuit targeting the company’s AirTag tracking devices failed to achieve class certification, according to Law360.
At least 16 plaintiffs — several filing under pseudonyms — filed the lawsuits on May 2, two months after U.S. District Judge Vince Chhabria declined to certify a class of alleged stalking victims.
The lawsuits allege Apple knew about AirTag safety risks from the moment the product launched in 2021, when the company immediately began receiving reports of individuals finding the devices hidden in their cars and belongings by stalkers.
Judge Chhabria rejected the class action lawsuit in part because the named plaintiffs could not demonstrate that stalkers would use AirTags to track them again, meaning they lacked standing to seek classwide injunctive relief.
The judge had also suggested during an earlier hearing that the case should have been pursued as a mass tort rather than a class action, comparing the claims to multidistrict litigation targeting ride-hailing giant Uber over driver assaults, Law360 reported.
The complaints allege that domestic violence advocates warned Apple about the risks of AirTag misuse before the product ever launched, but the company proceeded anyway.
According to the Apple lawsuits, the company’s own internal documents acknowledge that its safety measures only deter, rather than prevent, malicious use of the devices.
Many of the plaintiffs report serious personal and financial harm resulting from being tracked without their knowledge.
Plaintiffs detail accounts of stalking due to Apple AirTags
According to one lawsuit against Apple, Ohio sheriff Tonya Harris alleges an ex-boyfriend used an AirTag to stalk her between April and May 2022.
By downloading the Tracker Detect app, she located a hidden Apple AirTag under the carpet of the passenger side of her car.
Plaintiff Lauren Hughes alleges her stalker placed an AirTag in the wheel well of her car in October 2021. She claims Apple bears legal responsibility for the harm she suffered — including having to move multiple times, severe anxiety, depression, PTSD symptoms and significant out-of-pocket expenses for a guard dog, security camera, firearm and therapy.
The complaints allege AirTags became tools used in domestic violence, trafficking and stalking situations.
Reports claim that AirTag stalking incidents ended in physical violence, including a woman allegedly being followed to an Airbnb and punched by her stalker. Another incident allegedly involved a stalker using an AirTag to track a former partner before setting her car on fire.
The Apple lawsuits also claim the company’s safety protections were inadequate and left consumers vulnerable to harm.
According to some allegations, alerts could take hours or days to appear, and Android users allegedly had few protections for more than two years. Plaintiffs claim AirTag sounds were too quiet or easy to disable, and they often could not find hidden AirTags even after receiving alerts.
Meanwhile, in an ongoing Apple class action lawsuit, a judge certified a class of Illinois residents who used Siri on an Apple device and had their voiceprints or identifiable biometric feature vectors collected and stored since Sept. 14, 2014.
Do you own an Apple AirTag? Let us know what you think about allegations in these Apple lawsuits.
The plaintiffs are represented by Gillian Wade, Sara Avila, Collins Kilgore, Marc Castaneda, Edwin Kilpela, Paige Noah, David Slade, Brandon Haubert and Lucy Holifield of Wade Kilpela Slade LLP.
The Apple Air Tag lawsuits include Williams v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03890, Freeman v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03969, Miller v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03894, Biedleman v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03909, Alowonle v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03902, Murray v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03977, Hussein v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03973, Harris v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03972, Morris v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03978, Hopkins v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03898, Hughes v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03974, Sanders v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03975, Johnson v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03976, Jane Doe v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03914, Jane Doe v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03980 and Jane Doe v. Apple Inc., Case No. 3:26-cv-03982, all filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Northern California.
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One thought on Apple AirTag stalking claims move to individual lawsuits after class action fails
Please add me I have been using these Apple AirTags for many years now and was unaware