Can someone clarify a few things for me about Air tags?

[ssledoux]

I have one on my keys, which is honestly a waste because I rarely misplace them. I don’t know that I have much use for more, but recently, at my concealed carry class, the instructor talked about having them on his kids I guess when they are out and about.

I guess my understanding was that you couldn’t necessarily track anything unless it was close, and I know after a certain amount of time, others get notified if there’s one “following” them.

I’d just like to understand exactly how they work in that manner, and if it would be worth it to, say, put one on a dog collar, or clipped inside a kids’ pair of shorts or jeans when they’re at a greater risk of getting lost.

 

[MBAir2010]

ssledoux,​

do you like the airtags in general?

and
if my Mom put an AirTag on me, I would insert that in a garbage truck or find a car with interstate plates.
but that was in the 1970's before all this craziness and unlawfulness humans do.

 

[chiajoe]

We use them for our two kids (both under 10)

They're brilliant for summer camps/school trips/large public events

I think they work via Apple's existing network of devices so so long as someone has an apple device in proximity, you get the AirTags (i.e. child's) location even if lost

They are nearly always in range of some apple device

 

[PhoenixDown]

You get real time updates as long as someone has an iphone nearby. I recently went skiing and my bags were delayed. One bag I could see was in the my destination airport and I was able to get someone to help track it down. Another bag didn't catch my connecting flight but at least I could see it was at that airport. Super useful.

I keep air tags on my house keys and car key (seperate items) and I also keep some in my backpack in case I misplace or lose it. I even had one on my kindle since I keep misplacing the damn thing!