N.B. woman finds Apple AirTag in purse after night out: ‘I was so shocked’

globalnews.ca:

It started out as a fun night out but took a turn in the wrong direction.

A Fredericton woman, whom Global News agreed to keep anonymous to protect her privacy, said she came home from Klub Khrome Friday night to discover that someone had put an Apple AirTag in her purse while she was out with a group of people.

“Especially in a small town like Fredericton, you don’t think that these things happen, but they do,” the woman said.

She said she had seen a man reach inside her purse at the club that night and confronted him, assuming he had stolen something. He denied taking anything from her purse.

“I never thought someone would … add something to my bag,” she said. “I thought something was taken.”

When she got home later that night, the woman dumped out her purse to confirm that nothing had been taken. That’s when she noticed the AirTag.

“Honestly, I was almost — I don’t know if gaslighting is the right word — but kind of gaslighting myself. ‘Like, do I own an AirTag?'” she said.

“I was just so shocked.”

Apple AirTags are about the size of a quarter and are intended to track items like keys, electronics, luggage and other belongings. Using Bluetooth technology, AirTags notify users of the location and movement of the device.

But in recent years, people have brought up safety concerns about the technology. Apple is currently facing a class-action lawsuit in California, alleging that stalkers are using the devices to track victims.

The issue also extends to Canada: in 2023, a woman in B.C. was stalked using an Apple AirTag and later killed. And later that year, police in Ontario arrested a man for using an AirTag to track an unidentified person.

After discovering the AirTag, the Fredericton woman said she “completely