Have you ever lost something — luggage, your keys, a backpack — and thought, “Man, I can’t wait until a Jetsons-style future when I can immediately push a button to know where my belongings are, and track them with a small techy device until I find them again?”
Here’s how they work: AirTags can ping their own location, so when you attach them to one of your belongings, you can track that item via Apple’s Find My app, which is available in the cloud and on Apple devices like iPhones, laptops, and more. Through Find My, you can even tell your AirTag to play a sound so it’s easier to find.
Each one is completely encrypted for privacy, and even when it’s far away, it can anonymously and secretly use a network of Apple devices to send its location back to you. When you move away from an item like your keys, it can even send you a notice.
In addition to being water- and dust-resistant, AirTags have a wildly simple setup, and you can assign each one a name to keep your most valuable belongings sorted. After my car was stolen a few years ago and the thieves ripped out its GPS system, I bought one to keep in the spare tire in my trunk as a backup — and found it so useful I bought another to place in checked luggage (you never know where your bag might end up!). I haven’t lost my car in a crowded parking lot since.
