Apple’s AirTag really frustrates some people. It’s a great way to find a missing set of keys, but Apple deliberately built in features to prevent the tracker tag from being used to locate stolen property.
Maybe you’ll be less irritated with those features when you realize that stalkers find those exact same features equally frustrating — for the opposite reason.
AirTag should only be used for good
The recently launched AirTag 2 is even better than the original at finding lost items. My iPhone 17 can connect to the tracker tag at surprising distances, including being able to point in the exact direction of the tag.
And if the item an AirTag is attached to gets really lost, the Find My network is there to help. If any iPhone passes near a lost tracker tag, the owner’s iPhone is securely notified of the AirTag’s location — whether it’s across town or across the continent.
Knowing this, many people realize than a device than can find a lost purse is just as good at locating a stolen one. But Apple actively discourages this, to the point of adding features to AirTag to make it easier for thieves to discover the tag.
That’s because the better the device is for tracking stolen bikes, the better it is for stalking ex-wives.
Preventing AirTag from being used for evil
If you plan to use an AirTag to track a stolen item, you need to know beforehand that iPhone users get notifications if an unknown AirTag is detected traveling with them. (Many Android handsets give the same warning.) The Find My app will then help them locate the tag.
Even without a phone, AirTags separated from their owner too long will start emitting sounds to draw attention to their presence.
This all means it won’t be difficult for a smart thief to find the tracker you hid on your bike. But turn it around — consider what someone in danger of being stalked would feel about those same features.
It comes down to this: the very features that frustrate people trying to recover stolen property are the same features that protect strangers from being secretly tracked. AirTags can’t become better anti-theft tools without also becoming better stalking tools — and that’s a line Apple is not going to cross.
Think twice before using AirTags to track thieves
Even given the anti-stalking features built into AirTag, many people nevertheless still use them as anti-theft devices. If this is you, be careful. If you’re not smart about it, you can end up severely injured.
To fully understand the dangers of using an AirTag to track stolen property, there’s no better example than what happened to Stephen Herbert. He put one of Apple’s item trackers on his scooter, so he was able to go right to it when it was stolen. The thieves then beat the $%#@ out of him and took his scooter anyway.
“I think about how dumb I was to confront somebody and maybe had my life ruined in a lot more serious way,” Herbert said.
AirTags May Help You Find Stolen Property, if you’re smart
Now let’s consider the very different example of the Virginia carpenter who used AirTags to track down some of his stolen tools, and lead police to a trove of such items. The cops were eventually able to find 15,000 stolen construction tools, and it all started with one tip.
The difference between the two examples should be obvious: one man got help from police and ended up a hero, the other tried to handle the situation alone and wound up in a bloody heap on the ground.
Contact the police
To spell it out clearly, law enforcement and public safety officials have urged AirTag users many, many times not to personally confront suspects tracked with AirTags.
Before planning on going alone, think carefully about a famous quote by boxer Mike Tyson: “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face.”
Just call the cops. You’ll get punched in the face less.
The next generation of AirTag has its loudest speaker yet and an expanded Precision Finding range. It’s never been easier to follow and find your stuff.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
