AirTags have raked in more than $1 BILLION in profit for Apple trends now
Apple has made more than $1 billion from its AirTag devices as law enforcement across America push people to use the tech to keep track of their cars amid a nationwide spike.
New York officials are even going so far as to give 500 of the gadgets out for free to counter the Big Apple's car theft crime wave.
But while Mayor Eric Adams said the products are an 'amazing piece of ingenuity', some argue that the devices have a disturbing downside - they open a loophole for criminals to track victims too.
According to the Council on Criminal Justice, car thefts in 30 major cities jumped by 59 percent from 2019 to 2022.
This totaled over 37,000 more thefts in 2022 than the year before, sending officials scrambling to find a solution.
AirTags were released by Apple in 2021, and cops are urging motorists to use the tracking devices to monitor their vehicles amid a spike in vehicle thefts
Last month, Mayor Adams held a press conference to tout the NYPD's latest tech-savvy plan to give AirTags to residents in New York's 43rd precinct.
The district, which covers the southeast region of the Bronx, is one of the city's worst hit areas at over 200 car thefts since January.
Urging residents across the city to invest in the devices, the former cop-turned elected official praised the gadget as a potential answer to the city's theft problems.
'This simple AirTag, hidden in a car in a location that a person is not aware of is an excellent tracking device,' he said as he held up the tiny gadget.
'You can hide it anywhere in your car, and you can actually track your car moving.'
New York has seen more 5,400 cases of grand larceny auto so far this year, a 16.5 percent increase compared to this time last year, according to the NYPD crime tracker.
But in the month since Adams urged residents to use AirTags, the same figure almost halved, dropping from 1282 cases in April to just 652 in May.
The NYPD did not immediately respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment.
While some residents of the 43rd precinct received the tech for free, AirTags are usually available for $29 each, or $99 for four.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams pictured unveiling a plan to give away AirTags to help motorists and police track stolen vehicles on April 30, 2023
Faced with mounting pressure to curb the crimewave, officials across America may also see AirTags as a way to use new technology to their advantage.
Notably, the urging from law enforcement to use the devices seemingly overlooks the reaction angry victims could have to discovering their stolen car is nearby.
In January, a San Antonio man tracked down a thief who took off with his vehicle while an AirTag was inside, following him to a nearby shopping mall parking lot.
While the vigilante did call the police, he didn't wait for them to show up, instead confronting the suspect before he took matters into his own hands and shot him dead.
Despite killing the unwitting car thief, the gunman avoided charges, although a San Antonio Police spokesperson insisted at the time: 'I urge the public to wait for police... let us go with you, we have training.
'If you are to get your vehicle stolen, please do not take matters into your own hands like this. It’s never safe as you can see by this incident.'
Following the incident, Apple rolled out an update that allowed it to work with law enforcement to help them track down stolen AirTags.
The company introduced a proactive system that alerted people when they were being tracked, adding: 'We hope this starts an industry trend for others to also provide these sorts of proactive warnings in their
