Apple’s AirTag is a cool invention, but it absolutely can be used for nefarious purposes, like surveillance. What would you do if you found out that your partner had one in your car so they could track your whereabouts, but they did it without your consent?
This 30-year-old man has a girlfriend the same age as him, and they have been dating for three years. They currently live together and have been talking about getting married.
He has no problems trusting his girlfriend. He doesn’t badger her about where she’s going, and he doesn’t keep tabs on her or anything like that.
So, he went on a two-day work trip and left his car parked in the driveway. Upon returning, he heard a beeping noise coming from inside his car whenever he drove it.
He wasn’t concerned about it, but later on, his iPhone alerted him to an AirTag traveling alongside him. It showed him locations on a map that aligned with where he had just driven to.
His car doubles as a company vehicle, so he wondered if his employer had put the AirTag in there, but since he’s a manager, he knows somebody would have told him prior to installing it.
He tore his car apart trying to uncover the AirTag, but he couldn’t figure out where it was. His next step was to confront his girlfriend, as nobody else could have put it in his car.
“I could tell straight away that she did it. I asked her to remove it, and she became defensive and told me no (I must take it out myself) or (find it). I was so upset that I left it in there and carried on with my day,” he explained.
“The following day, I asked her to remove it and followed her to the car. It was taped to the [underside] of the passenger seat. I asked her reasons for doing it and was told she wants to know where I am.”
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“For context, we had an argument a couple of weeks ago, and she ignored me for 2 days. I mean completely ignored me as if I didn’t exist. The next day, I felt like I didn’t want to go home, so I went to the driving range and sauna and got home around 22:30.”
His girlfriend instantly was all over him, demanding to know where he was and what he was up to. He was honest with his girlfriend about what he was doing, and his girlfriend said he had to tell her every single place he went.
The problem for him is that he has nothing he’s trying to hide. He lives an average, yawn-worthy life. He works crazy hours and plays golf in his free time.
His girlfriend did say sorry and take the AirTag out of his car, but she’s been acting cold since then. She’s no longer kissing or hugging him, and she’s hardly speaking to him, so he’s left wondering what to do.
His girlfriend is childish and manipulative. I bet she did something while he was gone on that work trip to warrant her paranoia about where he goes.
At the end of the day, though, a relationship can’t survive, let alone thrive, without trust, and because his girlfriend has zero trust in him, I don’t think he should keep dating her.
Who wants to have to argue with their partner about not doing anything wrong? That’s exhausting.
What advice do you have for him?
By Bre Avery Zacharski
Hi, I'm Bre, Chip Chick's CEO! I have a degree in Textile/Surface Design from The Fashion Institute of Technology, and... More about Bre Avery Zacharski
