What is an AirTag?

You’ve spent an afternoon in the city, you board the train home and halfway through you realize that your wallet is not in your jacket pocket. Oh dear, where did he stay? In the restaurant, the clothing store or the coffee shop? Manufacturers of technical devices want to help people in these kinds of situations to find their stuff. That is why more and more brands are making so-called trackers. This is a small device that indicates where something is located on the basis of GPS or Bluetooth in an accompanying app. Previously, this worked mainly well indoors, but trackers are increasingly working at a greater distance. For example, put one in your wallet. If it is lost, you will see the location of the tracker, and therefore the wallet, in the app.

Tech company Apple has also made such a tracker. The manufacturer calls it the AirTag. It doesn’t use GPS but Bluetooth, more on that later. The AirTag works with iPhones, iPads and Mac computers and is associated with an Apple ID. The tracker itself is a disk. That can be put in something. There are also special hangers for sale to hang the AirTag somewhere. To see the location of the AirTag, the owner downloads the Find my app from the App Store or use the Find My program on the Mac.

So you need the following to use the tracker:

• An AirTag
• An iPhone, iPad, or Mac computer
• An Apple ID
• The Find My app or the Find My program

Oh oh, the house key with AirTag is somewhere in the house, but you don’t remember where. Grab your iPhone, iPad, or Mac and open the Find My app. The AirTag works on bluetooth. It sends out a signal that is picked up by other Apple devices. So your device searches for the bluetooth signal of the AirTag. If it has been found, the app will show you where or you will be advised to look one floor higher or lower. Search not only works at home, but also at a greater distance. There are many people with an Apple device. As a result, there is often an iPhone nearby that picks up the bluetooth signal from the tracker. So it’s no problem if you stand at the front door, while the house key is still in the library, five kilometers away. The tracker also works with NFC. As a result, a finder of the tag can hold his phone against it and request more information about the owner. But only the information provided by the owner, such as a phone number.

It is always good to look at the safety of new devices. Many people wonder about AirTag and privacy. Apple has ensured that the AirTag is fully encrypted. It only works with one specific Apple ID. So only the owner of that ID can see where the AirTag is. In addition, the AirTag does not store any location history or location data. You only see where the tracker is at that moment, not where it has been. Also, someone who scans the tag with NFC can only see the data that the owner has entered.

In addition, the AirTag has a privacy function. This prevents someone from throwing an AirTag in someone else’s bag to follow him or her. If an unknown AirTag has been around for too long, the Find My app will notify you. Even those who do not have Apple devices cannot be tracked inadvertently. An AirTag that is away from the owner’s device for too long will beep.

The following information is useful to know:

• An AirTag costs 35 euros (price August 2021).
• An AirTag is delivered without a hanger, so it must be purchased separately.
• Up to sixteen AirTags can be associated with an Apple ID.
• The AirTag runs on a button cell battery that lasts one year. If it is almost empty, you will receive a message.
• AirTags are water resistant. So it is not a problem if a bag with AirTag on it ends up in a rain shower.
• In principle, an AirTag does not work with Android devices. However, owners of Android smartphones with NFC can scan a found AirTag to get more information about the owner.