[klvino]

A couple of these products already exist for Android (and released before AirTag came to market). The difference with these products vs AirTag has been scale and consent. Apple devices are listening for AirTags without intervention or user consent by default. Existing Android products required additional steps to install softward and opt-in to the listening for tags.

Without the scale, your Android devices may be the only devices in your area listening for "Tags" which isn't bad if you are trying to find your keys at your house, but makes it difficult to track your luggage with airlines or monitor where your kids may be. Of course, the flip side of this scale is the current malicious use of AirTags for stalking & harrassment.

What solutions are there to this problem? Asking Google to recreate AirTags is simply recreating the problem within a second ecosystem. Perhaps this is an example of how lack of scale can be a 'good' thing from certain perspectives (a philosophical debate on the tipping point of your product shifting from consumer good to community harm). If you have honest conversations with lawyers or Risk Management, you'd know that passing laws against misuse has no effect unless a law is enforceable.

We're back at the core of the question, AirTags being only one example. How does society navigate the use of helpful technologies for malicious purposes.