We have seen multiple uses cases wherein AirTag helped people recover lost items. This time around, a Portland-based lawyer has used AirTag to track items belonging to homeless people. With the help of Apple’s AirTag, the lawyer proved that city contractors illegally thrashed items belonging to the homeless.

The illegally thrashed items include a speaker, two paintings and a french press. As per the rule, local authorities tasked with clearing campsites used by homeless people have to store the items for a month. Furthermore, the items can only be discarded after thirty days considering they are unsanitary or have no further use. The lawyer with the help of AirTag, discovered that city contractors were not following the rule.

Michael Fuller, who made a last-ditch legal maneuver last week to halt the clearing of tents from Laurelhurst Park, says he surreptitiously attached Apple AirTag tracking devices to 16 personal items with permission from several campers ahead of the clean-up by city contractor Rapid Response Bio-Clean.

Now, Fuller says, the wireless location signals show some of those possessions — including a pair of gloves, a speaker, two canvas paintings, and a french press — ended up at the Recology Oregon waste transfer station […].

AirTag uses a network of iPhones to locate a lost item. In this case, AIrTag could have discovered the things with the help of iPhones used by people tasked with clearing campsites. Thanks to Apple’s tracking technology, the lawyer now has proof that city contractors disposed of items belonging to homeless people and thus violating Oregon law.

Last month we saw how AirTag helped a man recover a wallet lost on New York Subway. The precise location feature on AirTag is an effective way to track your lost items. On the flipside, AirTag could make it easy to stalk anyone.