A family complains an AirTag is tracking their Disney World trip

A family complains an AirTag is tracking their Disney World trip

A family complains an AirTag is tracking their Disney World trip.

Gaston family members from Tennessee had a great day at Disney World, but a notification on their iPhone showed an AirTag device tracking their movements, but they hadn’t actually bought it , which makes their day at the Magic Kingdom a little spooky.

Mother Jennifer Gaston and daughter Madison were notified of an AirTag moving around them when they walked up to their car in the early evening, WKRN reported.

Jennifer said the first probe was at 7:09 p.m. and a notification appeared on their device at 11:33 p.m.

While checking the notice, Madison saw a map that included the locations of the entire park they had walked through in four hours. Jennifer said: “It shows the first destination where she is detected, and then it basically draws a line connecting the places she’s been.”

In an attempt to find the AirTag, the mother and daughter dangled their bags and clothes in the parking lot, but couldn’t find the device. They then drove to the hotel and called police on the way.

If an AirTag is found, it can be handed over to the police, who can then use the serial number to track down its owner.

However, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said the deputy sheriff who answered the call did not believe it was a criminal offense because no physical objects were found.

Even so, investigators made an incident report and said they were aware of the situation.

While it is plausible that the AirTag dropped and disappeared in the parking lot, there is also a possibility that the phone itself was misidentified.

It has been suggested that with the sheer number of Apple devices in the park , not having too many AirTags could produce “false” detections.

“As a parent, I was so crazy in that moment,” Jennifer told reporters. “Just to think that someone has these intentions. It’s terrifying to look at your daughters and just have these intentions.”

Madison said she was terrified because she had seen videos of AirTag stalking, “but it’s one of those things you never thought was going to happen to you until it happened.”

In all likelihood, the family was close to a group of people in the park, one or more of whom had an AirTag.

Some of the more popular attractions can queue up to two hours, sometimes even longer. Also, groups of people sometimes gather for three hours before the nightly fireworks show.

Although Apple says AirTags aren’t designed to track people, some families with children do wear AirTags on special necklaces in parks.

The misuse of AirTag for tracking has caught the attention of lawmakers and authorities, prompting the New York attorney general to issue a warning about trackers in February.

Apple’s anti-tracking features have also been criticized, and a report in April found they weren’t working as well as they should.

Even so, anti-tracking features have proven useful in some cases.

In February, the features are believed to have apprehended a stalker trying to use an AirTag hidden on a trailer hitch.