Tech Tips for Writers is an occasional post on overcoming Tech Dread. I’ll cover issues that friends, both real-time and virtual, have shared. Feel free to post a comment about a question you have. I’ll cover it in a future tip.
If you follow me on Instagram, you already saw this tip!
This is a very cool tip: Track anything with Apple Air Tags. I hid one in my husband’s car, labeled it ‘Dad’s Car’. Now, when it’s away from me, it sends a message to my phone like this:
Though the Air Tags might be best suited to finding a car lost in a parking lot, it also works if someone steals the car by setting the Air Tag to ‘lost’. Because the Air Tag itself only tracks within Bluetooth distance, ‘lost’ engages the assistance of the 1 billion users with Apple devices to notify you if they pass the Air Tag’s location. Let me stipulate: The effectiveness depends heavily on having Apple devices close enough to catch the Air Tag’s Bluetooth tracking signal.
Here’s a longish video I became addicted to watching. A YouTube influencer techie sort of guy tested the findability of lost Air Tags vs. Squares. It’s pretty interesting. He starts with a discussion of both items. If you’re looking for the test, it’s in the second half:
Anyone else use Air Tags for clever reasons?
Note: Award-winning author and blogging buddy Jacquie Biggar made a good comment over on Instagram: Thieves drop Air Tags into purses and pockets of unsuspecting people so they can follow them home. The iPhone–besides tracking your personal Air Tags–lets you know if unknown Air Tags are traveling with you, such as a thief’s. Thanks, Jacquie, for bringing that up!
Jacqui Murray is the author of the popular prehistoric fiction saga, Man vs. Nature which explores seminal events in man’s evolution one trilogy at a time. She is also the author of the Rowe-Delamagente thrillers and Building a Midshipman, the story of her daughter’s journey from high school to United States Naval Academy. Her non-fiction includes over a hundred books on integrating tech into education, reviews as an Amazon Vine Voice, and a freelance journalist on tech ed topics. Look for her next prehistoric fiction, Natural Selection, Spring 2022.
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Jacqui, would you happen to know if there’s an equivalent for android phones?
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Apple did release an Android app called Tracker Detect, which works with Apple’s Find My network. LifeWire has a good article on it: https://www.lifewire.com/using-airtags-with-android-5188775
It looks like it’s close with a few differences.
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Thank you for the link, Jacqui 🙂 I’ll check it out now.
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Cool tips 😁
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Thank you!
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this is a fun gadget and I know this is where we are at with tech – but this is a little too “Big Brother” for me
and I know things are safe and all
but this “ngages the assistance of the 1 billion users with Apple devices” is what puzzles me about safety and privacy – hmmmm
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And you aren’t wrong! I was shocked when I read that Ring Doorbells can talk to each other, be used as a network. I don’t have one, but when I replaced my thermostat, I opted for one that wouldn’t have an app on my phone!
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Well I love your tech tips and all the stuff you bring up for discussion –
And because of all the Ring doorbells and cameras – I can no longer go to the mailbox in my pjs! Hahaha
And I actually like a lot of this video stuff and feel there are perhaps more pros than cons, hmmm
And side note – did not know a thermostat could now have an app – but I guess most things can! My son’s friend has a smoker that has an app and he said it is really helpful as they have the grill and smoker on the roof! So rather needed
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We recently bought a thermometer with an app, for bbq, skipped the app, but our bbq isn’t on the roof! It’s right outside the door. I see your son’s friend’s point.
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😊
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Cool little device.
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And I’ll probably never have an opportunity to use any of them. It’s like insurance. You buy it, never use it, but keep buying it.
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Oh dear, Jacqui, now I have something new to worry about, air tags to track you home. Better to know than not, but it’s all quite scary.
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Yes, to both. Luckily, my phone will tell me if someone is tracking me. I don’t know if that works without the iPhone.
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LOL, it’s funny how easily bengin devices become tracking devices. I use the app to track my Tesla, regardless of who is driving it.
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That’s clever. I like that.
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I’m glad Apple thought to produce a security system to protect people from creeps. Otherwise, this is a handy tool. I like the Find My iPhone app. It basically works the same, allowing me to track my loved ones if they have their phones and have agreed to being added to My People list.
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It’s even better than the AirTag because it’s GPS. That’ll find it everywhere.
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Scrivener and Aeon Timeline are like Air Tags for writers. With these apps, writers can “tag” and track anything essential to your novel.
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Great analogy, Grant!
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Parece una buena opción. Te mando un beso
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Great option–but you do need the iPhone. If you have Android, Square is a good choice.
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I’ve not tried air tags and am not likely to. The few things that I have that I’d want to track – like my car or phone – already have this function built in. Still, it’s nice to use the “find my car” function on my car phone app when I can’t remember which parking lot I parked in.
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I don’t have a ‘find my car’. My son’s Audi came with that but he couldn’t get it to work. Darn!
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What’s the maximum distance to track?
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With Bluetooth, a couple hundred yards (I think). With the network–endless. Wherever someone walks by with an Apple device. Pretty cool.
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Sounds amazingly convenient to me. I remember before Disneyland built the California Adventure, it was a parking lot. We forgot where we parked on a rainy day. Someone drove by in a truck and gave us a ride to find the car!
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Such kind people. I wonder if they still do that.
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I know. I would think twice before giving a ride to strangers. Probably other people feel the same way.
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This kind of technology is mind boggling! I’ve never tried this.
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It is perfect for lost keys. I have one on my key chain and put one in my luggage when I am traveling.
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Hello
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Thanks for visiting, Sharif!
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Okay, that was a bit mind-blowing. I’d never heard of an air tag before. Awesome share, Jacqui!
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I’m amazed how many people have never heard of it. I don’t see myself on the cutting edge of anything, but for some reason, it’s been on my radar for a while. Maybe because I’m still angry over losing my laptop a few years ago!
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I remember when you lost it. I’d still be angry too!
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Wow. Who’d a thought.
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Amazing technology. My son-in-law uses these to help keep up with their keys as my daughter is always misplacing them. 🙂 Thanks for sharing.
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Me, too! And they do a good job of that.
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Thanks for the tip on air tags – I’ll have to set one up.
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I think they’re well-suited for keys (as Jan mentioned) because those are usually lost within your house. My son did have occasion to leave his wallet in a store and the air tag notified him where that was–that was good.
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All of this tracking has too much of a creepy factor for me. 😉
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It is a little creepy. I go over the edge with kids (adults?) who post where they are–in a restaurant or bar–on Facebook. How to tell everyone you’re not home (and your home could be available for robbing)!
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They don’t seem to get that anyone can see it–not just the people they want to see it.
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Technology keeps on advancing. New developments all the time. It’s fascinating and amazing to have this happening right in front of our eyes.
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Do you have a Find-me app on your phone? With all the walking you do in new areas–for long periods of time–I would worry! Your wife probably knows you well and doesn’t worry.
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Yes, I have that app.
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My husband’s daughter (I am the trophy wife) sent him airtags for Christmas last year. He could not figure out how to use them. I didn’t know. Another techie thing to get more confused with. Are we depending on to much techie stuff to rescue us from our busy lives? We don’t use Alexa either.
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You do have to have iPhone for them to work. Then, they almost install themselves if you hold the round disk next to the phone. What kind of phone does your husband have?
I love the idea of the trophy wife! Go, Grace!
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We both have Iphones 11 with the latest software
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It should work great for you then. Does he still have the disc? Of course, you have to decide what to track!. A pet snake is a good option.
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HAHAHA pet snake. I will see if we can find the tags. Its been a year so no telling where the tags to find lost things are hiding or could be lost.
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Never heard of air tags. But I am android, not apple, so that maybe why.
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Then you’d use Square. That’s the other device in the video. The YT guy says they’re both equally good though maybe Air Tags install easier.
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I haven’t heard of or used air tags. Maybe it’s just an apple thing. But my SIL lost his apple phone in a park one night and used the find my phone thingy (I’m not sure what) on his laptop (I think) to find it. He wouldn’t have found it in the dark otherwise. Pretty lucky!
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Good on him! It’s a great feature. It also tells me if my husband is almost home or where my kids are (not such a big deal now that Sean is home from Okinawa).
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Yes, I think it would have lots of uses. Could be overused by suspicious partners and parents though. Maybe a great tool for PIs. Or have I watched too many movies?
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No, you haven’t! There’s another free one out there that works on all platforms (not just Apple) called Life 360. It tracks where people are, where they were, how fast they drove, how charged their phone is–I could go on. THAT is a little intrusive for me!
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Google already knows everything about us if we use it, which I do. 😦
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🙂
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This is interesting. I’m not up to date on the AirTags, but I do get a message on my watch when I put my phone on the charger and move away from it. Actually, this kind of gives me the creeps…lol! 🙂 Thanks for sharing, Jacqui!
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With a phone, you could just call it so that’s not a big deal. I wished I’d put one in my laptop case when I lost it a few years ago. I was sure it was in the airport’s lost and found–argued with them in Japanese! If I could have shown them the airtag on my phone, they would have believed me. Sigh.
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I can picture you arguing in Japanese, Jacqui!
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Honestly, I didn’t do well. Luckily, my son spoke some–after living there for five years. But, they had their rules and weren’t going to change anything.
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I read somewhere that some parents use the AirTags to locate toys. Imagine never having to spend hours searching for that misplaced favorite teddy bear again 🙂
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Great idea and it’s well-suited for that. Most toys will be around the house, well within Bluetooth range.
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👍👍
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Thanks for visiting!
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I had fun 👍
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