Skechers introduced a series of shoes for children containing a hidden apartment where parents can slip into an Apple Airtag.
Inside the heel of the shoe, a small insert can be lifted to reveal the apartment. Parents can then watch their child’s position – or, at least, their child’s shoes. These shoes do not come with Airtag, and it does not seem to be a real partnership with Apple, but rather a product of third parties developed by Skechers on its own.
Shoes were announced in mid -July to Little Press but Appleinsider reported to the product on Wednesday.
Apple only advertises its Airtags as products to monitor objects such as keys, wallets or luggage – not human beings. But parents have used technology to watch their children. Already there are products such as Airtag compatible bracelets, soles, pins or even knock-off Crocs Jibbitz that can fit into an Airtag.
Perhaps deliberately, Airtags are not designed to be very good at monitoring rapidly changing things, such as a child on a school bus, for example. Unlike an iPhone with activated locations, the Airtags do not have built -in GPS. Instead, they use Bluetooth Beaconing technology to quietly mark their presence on nearby Apple devices, giving the Airtag owner an estimate of its location.
However, this technology can be used for malicious purposes. Bad actresses have hidden Airtags in handbags or cars of people A action class lawsuit. Apple has introduced some anti-lease features, such as sharing someone through iPhone or Apple Watch when an unknown Airtag travels with them.
Since Skechers only makes this product in children sizes, it is unlikely that these shoes be used for adult surfaces against their will – but the continuing normalization of this type of surveillance could have an impact beyond childish care. It is likely that Skechers or another shoe brand could make similar products designed for adults with conditions such as dementia, who may inadvertently wander by their carers. While these uses may be benevolent, these types of products could also be used to monitor adults without their consent.
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