I think the airtag might actually alert them that they are being tracked - the anti-stalker features built into the network will alert an iPhone user when an airtag they don't own is in the vicinity while moving and changing locations.

If the air tag is sufficiently hidden, perhaps this is a feature and not a bug. Maybe this will make them stop the car and leave it, which sounds like a win to me.

They will get a warning saying there is an air tag travelling with them. I have this problem. We have an air tag on one of my kids shoes when we are out, and whenever I’m not with them, my partner gets spammed with warnings on her phone saying there is an unknown air tag travelling with her.

> We have an air tag on one of my kids shoes when we are out

what the hell?

Right? Who the hell puts the tracker in a shoe? Shoes can be taken off.

Professionals put the trackers in the kids' teeth, a la Spy Kids.

Seems legit, kids can run away or be kidnapped. It’s important to know where your kids are.

> Seems legit, kids can run away or be kidnapped. It’s important to know where your kids are.

Ah yes. This statement is more terrifying than Apples half-assed PR fireball a few days ago.

The same folks who bought iphones because its has better "privacy" than Android...

...are using iphones to track their kids whereabouts. It's like a dystopian punchline masked in the Friends laugh track.

Tracking a kid at an amusement park, presumably a quite young one, is entirely fine IMO. I remember when I was 4 or so, I waited until my parents weren't looking to sneak off and go play with a toy in the gift shop my parents didn't let me see earlier in the day. I just about gave them a heart attack.

Right. All depends on age. Makes sense for an 8y/o, not for a 15y/o

This is for a 3y/o and a 5y/o

Yeah it is important to know where your kids are. I go with "pay attention".

I guess there are going to be scenarios where tracking could help and maybe even allow the kids freedom to roam within a large zone - the back paddock of a farm say - while still allowing parents to find them.

But I still like capability and trust more.

Some people have more children than adults. “Pay attention” is the default state but it’s not always possible to pay complete attention to both children and everything else, every moment of every day.

I really think you’re holding parents to an unreasonably high standard. The punishment for a moments lapse in not paying attention shouldn’t be a missing 4 year old.

We use this when we are at amusement parks, museums or in the city. We also have a piece of white tape, with our phone number, on the kids so that if they get lost, and someone finds them, they can call us up.

> a ridiculous concept

Says a guy who’s never had a friend or family member who’s been stalked.

If someone can get close enough to drop an AirTag on your person or in your car, they can harm you regardless.

A lot of people have the opportunity to interact with your (unattended) car or your belongings in situations where they couldn't harm you without taking a substantial risk. Imagine a person you interact with at a bar who drops an AirTag in your purse while you are briefly distracted.