Millions of users there owned iPhones, AirPods and AirTags that were, in practice, untrackable if lost or stolen. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

He was told the usual: laws, security, geopolitics. But then he stumbled across something odd – an old post claiming someone had tracked their AirPods using Find My on Baengnyeong Island, a remote Korean territory. If the feature was illegal under Korean law, he thought, why did it work there? […] users were able to find lost backpacks, wallets and AirPods for the first time, along with some long-overdue peace of mind.

  • jqubed@lemmy.worldEnglish
    12·
    9 days ago

    Although no official data is available, Mr Hwang believes South Korea has more than 10 million Apple users, yet, for 15 years, no one – not the media, influencers or lawmakers – questioned why a basic feature was missing. Everyone assumed someone else had checked.

    One person finally did.

    “For me, this wasn’t just about the feature alone,” he said. “It was about how easy it is for misinformation to settle into something permanent. People thought Apple had a good reason. But no one could say what it was.”

    I wonder if this is a cultural thing? Like how widespread is the belief in dying from sleeping in a room with a fan on?

      • jqubed@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        9 days ago

        I don’t think it’s particularly believed anymore, but at one time there was apparently a widespread belief in Korea that sleeping in an enclosed space with an electric fan running came with a high risk of death. Maybe everyone just kind of went along without questioning it, assuming someone had verified this, and that’s what happened with Find My Friend. Everyone believed there was some legal reason blocking it in South Korea and just kind of went along with it assuming someone had checked.

        It probably isn’t a phenomenon limited to Korean culture, but one where I could quickly think of a possibly related example. Maybe like the common belief in the USA and perhaps other places that swimming/going in the water immediately after eating will cause dangerous muscle cramps. It doesn’t.