There are two interesting things to learn in this story from a reporter at The New York Times who tracked her husband using AirTags, Tiles and a dedicated GPS-enabled tracker.

1. In Manhattan, an AirTag proved far better at real-time tracking than the dedicated GPS-enabled tracking device, thanks to the density of people with iPhones.

2. The AirTags were far better than the other trackers at alerting the husband that he was being followed.

For all the brouhaha about AirTags and stalking, they are better than other tracking devices at alerting you to nefarious uses. Apple mentioned this in Thursday's pledge to make its tracking tags even more secure: Stalking with trackers is already a problem, you just don't know about it. Plus, AirTags are better than other devices at alerting you to any potential problems.

As the reporter's husband concluded at the end of the experiment:

“For all the bad press the AirTags have gotten, and as flaky as the detection mechanisms were, at least I was consistently getting notifications they were following me,” he said. “The privacy dangers of the other trackers were way worse.”

-- Leander Kahney, EIC.

Apple boosts AirTag privacy after criminal incidents — www.cultofmac.com

Apple said Thursday it will update its item trackers with new privacy warnings, better warning sounds and smarter Find My tracking. The efforts comes as the company tries to improve security in the wake of criminal activity involving the devices, such as theft and stalking.

Mac users say Zoom is listening in when it’s not in use — www.cultofmac.com

Zoom rolled out an update last December for its native Mac app that supposedly resolved “an issue regarding the microphone light indicator being triggered when not in a meeting.” But it doesn’t appear to have worked.

Power up MagSafe gear on the go with heavy-duty Excitrus charger — www.cultofmac.com

Those in the market for fast charging while on the move, take note. Mobile charging specialist Excitrus' new 100W Magnetic Wireless Portable Charger features a 20,800mAh battery and MagSafe compatibility.

Protect your AirPods with this sale-priced accessory kit — www.cultofmac.com

Possibly the only downside of AirPods is that they can break or get lost. You can customize your Apple earbuds, and make them last longer, with a four-piece AirPods accessory kit from Chargeworx. This kit, which works with AirPods Pro as well as third-gen AirPods, comes with four items that combat common problems. And right now it’s on sale for $22.99, a full 54% off the regular price of $49.

Class-action lawsuit takes aim at iPad mini’s ‘jelly scroll defect’ — www.cultofmac.com

The lawsuit claims Cupertino acted “in an unethical, unscrupulous, outrageous, oppressive, and substantially injurious manner” by promoting a device that it supposedly knew to be defective.

Xiaomi wants to beat iPhone by matching its ‘product and experience’ — www.cultofmac.com

The Chinese company is in “a war of life and death” with iPhone, according to its CEO. Xiaomi was once famous for taking a little too much inspiration from Apple -- and cranking out copycat products.

Tinder promises to stop charging older users more for premium features — www.cultofmac.com

The shady tactic was exposed in a report on price discrimination. The popular dating service charged users aged between 30 and 49 an average of 65.3% more than younger folks.

Learn to automate your home office like an IT pro [Setups] — www.cultofmac.com

Blogger Derek Seaman may be an IT systems architect in his day job, but he also designs and builds advanced computer setups. That is, if his home office is any indication. Which it is. He shared details about his MacBook Pro-driven workstation — actually, the whole room — with Cult of Mac.

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"Taking LSD was a profound experience, one of the most important things in my life." -- Steve Jobs