The morning rush. I'm sure you know it well. You’ve somehow managed to get everyone dressed, fed, and ready to walk out the door when the dreaded question comes: “Where’s my…?” It could be a school bag, a favourite lunchbox, or that one specific jacket that has to be worn today. The frantic search that follows can turn a smooth morning into a stressful ordeal.
For me personally, it's that moment where my daughter jumps in the car at pickup and I'm met with a blank stare when I ask "where's your violin?". The anxiety that blank face brings dialed up to 11 when my daughter moved up to a full size violin. Same instrument, same brand, 5x the price. I've told her how my first car cost less than that violin, admittedly it wasn't a great or reliable car, but the key message is mixing expensive instruments with the carelessness of a child needs a solution...
If this sounds like your household, you might be interested in the world of Bluetooth trackers. These small, coin-sized devices can be attached to just about anything, and they offer a simple, tech-savvy way to keep track of your family’s belongings. But, like any technology, they come with their own set of benefits and considerations. So, let’s explore how these little gadgets can bring a bit of calm to the chaos, and what you need to know to use them safely and effectively.
The Upside: More Than Just Finding Lost Keys
The most obvious benefit of a Bluetooth tracker is, of course, finding things. But for parents, it’s about more than just locating a misplaced set of keys. It’s about the peace of mind that comes with knowing you can quickly find:
- The School Bag: Left at the park after a playdate? A quick look at your phone can tell you.
- The Lunch Box: Did it make it home, or is it still sitting in the classroom?
- The Expensive Jacket: Avoid the cost and frustration of replacing lost clothing.
- Musical Instruments and Sports Gear: These items are not only expensive but also essential for your child’s activities.
Many trackers also have a “left behind” feature, which sends an alert to your phone if you get too far away from the tagged item. This proactive feature can prevent things from getting lost in the first place.
The Other Side of the Coin: Risks and How to Handle Them
It’s impossible to talk about tracking technology without addressing the potential risks. The good news is that the companies behind these devices have implemented safety features to mitigate them. Here’s what you need to be aware of, and how to use trackers responsibly:
- Unwanted Tracking: The biggest concern is that these devices could be used to track people without their consent. To combat this, both Apple and Google have built-in alerts that notify you if an unknown tracker is moving with you over time.
- Privacy: Location data is sensitive. It’s important to have open conversations with your kids about what these trackers are for – keeping their belongings safe – and not for tracking them.
Here are a few simple steps to use trackers in a safe and responsible way:
- Talk to Your Kids: Explain that the tracker on their backpack is to help find the bag if it gets lost, not to monitor them.
- Use the Safety Features: Familiarize yourself with the anti-stalking features of the tracker you choose.
- Check for Unknown Trackers: Show your kids how to look for and report any notifications about unknown trackers.
I go one step further and use an android app called "Tracker Detect Pro" to enable me to proactively search for trackers without relying upon the the default Apple or Google solutions. My only gripe is that there are so many trackers out there now, many show up under "Bluetooth Devices" rather than any tracker categories.
Choosing Your Tracker: A Look at the Big Names
The three main players in the Bluetooth tracker market are Apple, Google, and Tile. Each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and the best one for your family will likely depend on the type of smartphone you use.
Apple AirTag
- The Good: If you’re an Apple family, the AirTag is a compelling choice. It uses the massive, encrypted Find My network of iPhones, iPads, and Macs to locate your items. This means that if your child leaves their tagged bag on a busy playground, there’s a good chance another Apple device will anonymously report its location. For newer iPhones, Precision Finding can guide you to the exact spot where the item is hiding.
- The Not-So-Good: The biggest frustration for parents is Apple’s refusal to allow AirTags to be shared with a child’s Apple ID, even within a Family Sharing group. This means that if you, as a parent, set up an AirTag, you are the only one who can see its location. If you give that AirTag to your child, their iPhone will treat it as an unknown tracker.
Google’s Find My Device
- The Good: Google has now rolled out its own Find My Device network, which, like Apple’s, uses the vast number of Android devices to help locate lost items. This is great news for Android users, and Google has opened up its network to third-party tracker makers.
- The Not-So-Good: The network's effectiveness can be surprisingly limited in less populated areas, but this is due to a specific design choice by Google rather than the network's age. By default, most Android devices are set to contribute to the network only in "high-traffic areas" like airports and busy city centres. This means that in suburban or regional locations, the network is much less effective. To get reliable results in these lower-density areas, users must manually change this setting to "With network in all areas," a crucial step that many people might overlook.
Tile
- The Good: Tile has been in the tracker game the longest, and its devices work with both Android and iOS. They come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from stickers to credit card-thin trackers for wallets.
- The Not-So-Good: Tile’s biggest weakness is its network. It relies on other Tile users running the Tile or Life360 app to find lost items, which is a much smaller network than Apple’s or Google’s. This means that if you lose an item in an area with few Tile users, it’s less likely to be found. Additionally, because it is a third-party solution, it requires a separate app and some features, like left-behind alerts or sharing to multiple users, require a paid subscription.
Historically I've been all-in on the Tile ecosystem, having adopted them well before the Apple AirTag was ever a thing. Back then it was the best in a niche category. Unfortunately the AirTag's popularity has neutered the Tile's effectiveness. As native Apple and Google solutions have taken over I've found Tile to become less effective over time. Combine this with long standing issues, such as battery drain stemming from the Tile app, and pay-walling of fundamental features, I now have a large cache of tags that I rarely use.
So back to our violin
Like all of these walled garden solutions, you're unfortunately trying to find an ecosystem that "best fits" your family. My wife and I use Android phones but both have iPads. The kids both have iPads but don't have individual phones yet. The proliferation of iPads seemed like the Apple network would be the obvious solution. I skipped over the AirTags and instead went for an Apple Compatible solution: Atuvos tags. These skip Ultra Wideband support (used for super accurate location tracking) and instead offer a much lower cost with Bluetooth tracking only, and a hole for a keyring avoiding the added headache of needing to also find a case / holder for the tag.
Apple "just works" so I assumed this would be easy, after-all the kids and I are all in the same family group. I set up the tag and tried to share it with my daughter - no dice. I set up the tag again, this time on my daughter's iPad and tried to share it to me - still no dice. A bit of Googling and I quickly learned that even if you're in the same family group you can't share tags between parent and child devices. As a parent I can see my child's iPad's location at any time, but not a Bluetooth tracker that we both share. W.T.F.
This was an immediate deal-breaker and forced a re-think. The next solution was a simpler one: Dig up an old Tile and share directly with my daughter (you can share with one person before you hit the paywall) and I later on added an MiTag (Android compatible) so my wife and I can find the Violin. For now my daughter's violin is a mess of Atuvos tag (because I already set it up), a Tile and a MiTag.
Longer term I'll reset the Atuvos tag back to my daughter's iPad and keep the MiTag for android purposes, removing the Tile entirely.
For everything else, it's Android trackers all day long. For my wife's and my keys, her wallet, my backpacks and my luggage a mixture of Chipolo tags and moto tags - all Android network compatible - make up the solution.
The Final Word
Bluetooth trackers can be a fantastic tool for busy families, offering a simple solution to the age-old problem of lost belongings. They can reduce stress, save money, and give you a little more peace of mind.
However, they are not a substitute for teaching kids responsibility and having open conversations about technology and privacy. By understanding the benefits and the risks, you can choose the right tracker for your family and use it in a way that is both helpful and safe.
In our instance, we're still talking regularly about keeping an eye on the Violin, making sure school and sports bags are accounted for, but I'm glad we have a digital fallback for the moments I'm met with a blank stare.