Bluetooth tracker Tile has new approach for stopping thieves, stalkers

Life360’s Bluetooth tagging device Tile is launching a new anti-theft mode designed to get around a tricky issue: criminals knowing when an item they’ve stolen is being tracked.

The new anti-theft mode makes a user’s Tile undetectable in Scan and Secure, the company’s in-app feature that allows iPhone and Android users to locate nearby Tiles. That feature was initially launched to combat the rise in stalking with Bluetooth tagging devices, but now the company say that approach hasn’t stopped stalking and has, if anything, made a criminal’s job easier to get away with.

“It seemed like the actual problem of stalking wasn’t actually being necessarily solved,” said Life360 CEO Chris Hulls. “But what was happening was that there’s this new vector that’s opening up for thieves, where so much of the reason people buy Bluetooth tags to begin with is to protect their items from theft. And now, if you have a Tile or an AirTag, a smart thief will almost certainly be able to find it.”

That’s because if a thief learns there is a Bluetooth tag on an item that they stole, they’re able to easily remove the tag and prevent victims from tracking down valuables.

Bluetooth tagging devices like Life360’s Tile, Apple’s AirTag and Samsung’s Galaxy SmartTag have come under pressure to increase safety features as stalking cases rose. But robberies are also on the rise throughout the U.S., and according to Hulls, there’s been a negligible number of stalking cases. During the first half of 2022, there was a 5.5% increase in robberies throughout the country, according to the Council on Criminal Justice.

“Theft is the primary reason people buy these products,” Hulls said. “Our new anti-theft mode is a tradeoff. … It gives consumers choice, they can turn off all the anti-stalking features, so their Tiles become invisible,” he added.

Tile is taking a new approach to stalking prevention. If a user chooses to use the anti-theft mode, they must go through an ID verification process, which will register the user with Tile and sync their ID with their account.

“From our research, the real issue with stalkers is how do you remove anonymity?” he said.

Scan and Secure didn’t address that issue, he said, and it didn’t have any enforcement mechanism. That’s changing now too, with Life360 threatening stalkers with a $1 million penalty the company will pursue against any individual convicted in a court of law for using Tile devices to illegally track any individual without their knowledge or consent. If someone is convicted in court for stalking using Tile, in which the ID verification makes prosecution easier, Tile would sue that person for violating the terms and services.

But there is a user privacy issue in the changes as well. Life360 is increasing collaboration with law enforcement so that if anti-theft mode is enabled, users must acknowledge that personal information can and will be shared with law enforcement at the company’s discretion, even without a subpoena, to aid in the investigation and prosecution of suspected stalking.

“So much of why people buy these devices to begin with is to protect against theft. So, we think this really threads the needle elegantly,” Hulls said.  

Consumer technology advocates weigh in on safety and security changes

Technology safety advocates aren’t convinced.

Kathleen Moriarty, chief technology officer at the Center for Internet Security, said via email that a closer tie to identity should improve the integrity of the solution by adding in a human factor and sense of responsibility, but as is the case with any new release, “limits and boundaries will be tested in unexpected ways.”

“Typically confidence from technologists is higher for standards-based solutions due to the rigorous review process by a number of experts. The solution holds promise and time will tell as it gets tested in real-world scenarios,” she said.

Adam Dodge, CEO of digital safety education company EndTAB and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Digital Justice Advisory Committee, was more critical of the approach in an email exchange. “This update denies stalking victims access to the most essential of safety measures, the ability to verify and locate a tracker to stop the abuse,” Dodge wrote.

He says Life360’s new safety commitments — identify verification, fines and promises to cooperate with law enforcement — do not offset the increased risk created for victims, and he noted that the features and new company policies only come into play if the Tile tracker is found, something that anti-theft mode now makes much less likely. 

“We have to remember that bad actors care most about getting caught. From that perspective, this new feature is a homerun,” Dodge said. “I’d rather see Tile’s new commitments to safety implemented on their own, as opposed to a way to blunt the risks created with anti-theft mode.” 

In his view, if the problem of stalking wasn’t being solved, companies like Life360 should solve for it specifically through innovation and new safety features. “The irony is that, by making Tile trackers undetectable, it is now easier for stalkers to stay anonymous,” Dodge wrote. 

This story has been updated to include comments from Adam Dodge, CEO of EndTAB, and Kathleen Moriarty, chief technology officer at the Center for Internet Security.