It’s time for another round of hack tech “reviews” comparing Google products against Apple products. This round?

Location trackers.

I’ve been pretty vocal on the topic for the last year, pointing out how Apple used its size to bully competitors, and how in this specific instance, Apple fell far short anticipating concerns with AirTag privacy and security.

After a year-long delay (caused by Apple), folks on Android are finally getting access to tags, cards, and clips that offer up networked location tracking capabilities.

And in the first week that these products are hitting Google’s network, it’s time for Hack Tech “reviewers” to declare Apple “the winner” in a completely unfair comparison.

Since the launch of the AirTag, Apple has faced shockingly little criticism.

Sure. We saw news reports about stalking and car thefts, but no one seriously suggested that people shouldn’t buy AirTags. There was an exhausted air of inevitability about the product.

“Apple launched it in a completely broken and unsafe state, but like, what else are you gonna buy?”

The entire tech industry rolled over again to promote Apple’s solution, instead of rightly pointing out how Apple should have improved the product before launching it at scale.

No one seriously pushed back against the unfair advantage Apple gave themselves.

When you set up a new iPhone, there’s a nearly friction-less process of agreeing to the terms of service, logging into your apple ID, and activating things like location services.

Where are the scary pop up warnings about giving a company your data? A user just bulk approves all of Apple’s services in one simple on-boarding.

When you set up a Tile tracker, you have to manually approve sharing Bluetooth, allowing notifications, and activate locations sharing. Each activation requires double approvals, through the app and through the iOS confirmation pop ups.

Apple gives itself full access to the entire Apple “Find My” network, while Tile is only able to track devices with the Tile app installed. It’s almost like Apple is ripping off Tile’s business model, and giving themselves a radically unfair advantage.

Apple makes AirTag activation as easy as possible, and assumes your consent from the original iPhone setup process. Apple takes competitors, and makes it look like their data collection policies are scary and insecure.

Apple’s data collection is TECHNICALLY opt-in, but it’s buried in general setup dialog boxes that people are likely to press through as quickly as possible to get their new phone up and running.

If someone should want to opt out of Apple collecting all your data, Apple makes sure that process looks as scary as possible.

There’s not a lot of customization for Apple’s Find My network.

You’re pretty much in or out.

The main feature depends on your cellular connection and GPS data. Then an additional toggle allows for Bluetooth tracking if your phone should lose signal. A third toggle activates a feature where an iPhone with a dying battery will send up its last known location to Apple servers before the phone shuts off.

The Find My iPhone feature though is ALSO tied to basic security settings like device locking and device wiping. This is one of Apple’s DARKEST dark patterns, compelling participation from consumers.

“Sure, you COULD opt out of Find My iPhone, but if you did, then anyone could just steal your phone, and wipe it, and use it. There’s NO WAY we could help you unless you also give us all of your location data. We wish it could be another way, but we just couldn’t possibly design a phone where those two features were separate security options.”

When you deactivate the feature, you have to put in your Apple ID credentials again, a small speed bump, but another minor pain point to encourage someone to reconsider.

But then, after it’s disabled, you get a nag email from Apple, driving the point home once more, that your device is now the least secure it possibly could be. Your iPhone can now just be wiped and re-used if it’s lost or stolen.

This is grotesque.

By comparison, when you set up the Google Find My Device app, you have to approve the app with your Google account password again. You also have to separately approve location and nearby devices.

When you’re in the app, you have four different settings for how detailed you want Google’s offline tracking to be, and on my first look at the new Find My Device app, my app was set to “Off”. I imagine a number of people installing this for the first time will likely have reduced accuracy (or disabled offline tracking) by default.

Devices are just starting to contribute to this new tracker network, and in its early state, it’s already comparable to the experiences I’ve had with Tile. In higher traffic areas, I’m starting to get hits on things like my Wife’s keys.

I expect this will improve as folks consider opting-in to Google’s network, especially in markets where Android devices significantly outnumber iPhones.

Unlike Apple’s AirTag launch, we have working “Unknown Tracker” notifications, and it will be FAR less likely that bad guys will be able to use Android trackers to do bad things like folks were able to with AirTags.

Anyone celebrating the recent updates to the iPhone (enabling unknown tracker alerts) you have Google to thank for that. Had Apple been left up to their own devices, the iPhone would have remained less secure. Apple was happy to delay those updates as long as possible, giving AirTags an extra year in the market without competition from Google.

To sum up:

Apple glosses over security warnings for their own services, and makes opting-out of their services look scary.

Google’s network requests the same permissions and security settings we would find on a third party network.

Google gives users more options for participation, and does not tie other security features to location network participation.

Of course, AirTags are going to be more precise when Apple compels a MUCH higher level of compliance from their customers. Apple was able to stall Google’s network, chilling competition for over a year. AirTags have been in service for over three years now.

Of course, tech “journalists” aren’t detailing these kinds of differences between Apple and Google’s services. Everyone “knows” Google location tracking “bad”, and Apple data tracking “good”.

It’s not surprising anymore, that we can always count on Techie hacks to shill hard whenever it comes to Apple. It’s just a shame that this comes at increasing risk to Apple’s most loyal customers, and that it continues to hurt competition for everyone.

But you know… Money…