In 2021, Apple released a sleek Bluetooth-powered tracking device called an AirTag, meant for locating keys and baggage while traveling. But people started finding them hidden in their coats and purses, and behind their license plates on their cars. Many of these people received warnings on their iPhones, a feature Apple had built into the AirTag system to help prevent unwanted tracking

When my colleague and I reported on this, experts we spoke with were of two minds about Apple’s attempts to prevent nefarious use, with some saying the alerts were inadequate and others praising the company for unearthing a larger problem: widespread surreptitious tracking, usually done with devices that don’t notify a person of their presence.

I decided to find out how hard it would be to discover hidden trackers — by hiding them on my husband and his belongings. (With his consent! I did not want him to divorce me. He is wonderful. Wonderful enough to let me do experiments like this.)

This was the resulting story.

And this was his very thoughtful response to it, also in The New York Times.