Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney slams Apple’s Find My as ‘super creepy surveillance tech’

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney today criticized Apple’s Find My service, describing it as “super creepy surveillance tech” that “shouldn’t exist.”

In response to a post about Find My on X, Sweeney commented, “This feature is super creepy surveillance tech and shouldn’t exist. Years ago, a kid stole a Mac laptop out of my car. Years later, I was checking out Find My and it showed a map with the house where the kid who stole my Mac lived. WTF Apple? How is that okay?!”

Following confusion among his followers regarding his remarks, Sweeney clarified that while Find My shows the location of a device, it does not track the person holding it. He argued that the tracking of lost or stolen devices should be handled through legal channels rather than being exposed to device owners in what he described as a “vigilante fashion.”

Sweeney has since disabled the Find My feature on all of his devices.

While Apple’s AirTag trackers have faced criticism for misuse by stalkers, Find My has not been similarly criticized. Find My and Activation Lock have played crucial roles in deterring theft, with recent updates expanding Activation Lock to include iPhone components to prevent them from being dismantled for parts.