An Oregon woman has taken legal action against Apple after alleging that the company’s anti-stalking protections failed her—and she never received an alert that she was being tracked with an AirTag.
In a case filed last week in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, the plaintiff—identified only as Jane Doe—claims that a former partner attached an AirTag underneath her vehicle and used it to follow her movements on multiple occasions. The stalking reportedly involved verbal and written threats, as well as damage to her property. The partner has since been charged and a restraining order put in place. Jane Doe is now seeking $75,000 in damages, citing Apple’s negligence for not issuing a warning. She asserts that she was using an iPhone, which should have triggered an alert upon detecting a tracker travelling with her without its owner nearby.
What Apple’s Anti-Stalking Safeguards Are Supposed to Do
Apple has rolled out several features aimed at preventing AirTag-enabled stalking. When a Bluetooth tracker like an AirTag moves with someone who does not own it, the system should generate a notification. There’s also functionality allowing users to identify the tracker’s owner, play a sound on the Tag, and learn how to disable it. Even for people without smartphones, the AirTag is designed to occasionally chirp after being separated from its owner for three days.
Firmware updates released in April 2026 for the second-generation AirTag adjusted the chirp sound to make it easier to locate. Meanwhile, since 2024 Apple and Google jointly moved toward cross-platform standards meant to ensure trackers send warnings to both iOS and Android when misuse is suspected.
Failure to Warn, According to Jane Doe
According to the lawsuit, none of the protections triggered an alert during her ordeals. Despite using an iPhone, Jane Doe claims she received no notice that an AirTag she wasn’t carrying was traveling with her. That raises question marks about whether the safeguards are failing in real-world stalking scenarios—either through delays, misdetections, or possibly interoperability issues.
This lawsuit follows others in recent years. In August, two women in Detroit alleged similar tracking by ex-partners using AirTags, and claimed Apple’s systems didn’t warn them either. A separate class-action lawsuit filed in 2022 challenged the adequacy of Apple’s anti-stalking measures; while it was initially certified, that classification was removed in March 2026. Plaintiffs have since refiled their claims.
Jane Doe’s case joins a growing pattern of legal challenges questioning whether Apple’s tech lives up to its intent when it comes to personal safety—and whether victims can rely on key features to protect them.
The core of Jane Doe’s argument is that despite Apple’s published anti-stalking mechanisms, they did not activate in her situation—and that is unacceptable when failure means someone’s safety is at risk. Stayed tuned: this case could press Apple toward further improvements, whether through firmware, user interface changes, or legal requirements.
